Queens Of The Stone Age – Lullabies to Paralyze
(Interscope)

QOTSA’s fourth full length kicks off with Mark Lanegan channeling Nick Cave for “The Lullaby”, setting the pace for this, an album seemingly inspired by Grimm’s Tales. It’s a step up from their last album’s “Clone Radio” spoof, and you can probably credit it to the fact that QOTSA is now the Josh Homme show. After firing long time bassist Nick Oliveri, we see Homme seize control of one of the more popular rock bands out there today.

And the album further confirms that this is a band that should be on classic radio, not modern rock stations. The QOTSA sound contains all the fuzz and production of a band you’d hear in between Black Sabbath, Zep, and hell, even George Thorogood. At the same time, the last time I really heard this type of guitar sound was the Foo Fighters’ debut, which probably explains Grohl’s contribution to the band in the past as well as their fanbase among the alt-rock crowd.

This album has seen perhaps the most divisive reviews of any QOTSA release, probably due to the fact that Homme has begun to finally stray from what has become the QOTSA formula. The last record, while a fine release, perhaps had a little too much ghost-like ooh-ing and aah-ing — enough anyway, that we needed a break from it. And while this one may from time to time continue the tradition of non-stop one note riffing, there is a better, bouncier pace to more of the songs, some more slower songs to vary the pace, and better vocal patterns throughout as well.

A problem though, is that while the record may be a step ahead for Homme’s ability to make a enjoyable record to listen to all the way through in one sitting, the best songs on Lullabies don’t reach the heights of the best tracks on “Songs for the Deaf” or “R”. The closest it comes is with “Burn the Witch”, and the single “Little Sister”, which actually disappointed me at first as I listened in comparison to previous singles.

Overall, if you liked QOTSA before, I don’t see why you wouldn’t at least give this album a chance. Myself, I still think R was QOTSA’s high point, but I’ll keep buying ‘em if they can keep up this level of quality. The price is right, and if you want to spend a few extra bones you can pick up the larger edition which comes with a making-of DVD and much better packaging. — Goon

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