
Queens of the Stone Age: Villains (AKA I don’t know what to think/feel about this album)
One of your favorite bands of yesteryear releases a new album after a few years on the DL. This is , of course, big news. You’re going to be counting down the days. The day finally arrives and you get that Spotify e-mail to let you know the album is out. You plug those headphones into your computer and expect to be taken on a wild journey because hey! These fellas are rebellious rockers through and through. Check out those sick leather jackets they have. The singer is basically a Ginger Elvis, which seems to be a dream within reach for a fellow redhead. These boys obviously know how to boogie and haven’t disappointed you since you first listened to them over a decade ago.
The first little diddy has you thinking “Now THAT’S how you start an album,” while the the second makes you think “meh, generic boogie rock track that sounds like a ZZ Top outtake. Next.” The third track, also fairly forgettable, starts to make you nervous. “These guys couldn’t have let themselves go, right?” Then the fourth track hits. By this time, your internal Jerry Seinfeld voice is thinking “What’s the deal with all these synths?”
Queens of the Stone Age were a band I discovered late in the late 00s after becoming immersed in alternative rock. After being raised on a steady diet of Sting and U2 in my youth, I started to branch out thanks to the MP3 player. After hearing “No One Knows” on the radio I was determined to listen to this band I’ve always heard about, but never really got into. After buying Era Vulgaris, the Queens became a band some guy in the back of my math class was always talking about to a band that was in regular rotation for me. I waited for a follow up to Era while constantly spinning (if that’s possible on an iPod) their older material. When …Like Clockwork came out in 2013, I felt that it was a culmination of all their work, with both former members and music icons like Elton John showing up as guest musicians . “QOTSA IS BACK BABY! It’sgood again. Awouu (wolf howl).”
After hearing their first single, “The Way You Used to Do,” of their latest effort, Villains, I was thoroughly unimpressed. My inner fan went through a day of denial. “It’s only the first single, who knows? It’s probably not for everyone. It’s danceable though!” The second single, “The Evil has Landed,” fared much better on the ears as it reminded me of the Queens of old, just a riff heavy stoner rock jam that gets spun on it’s head in the second half a la “I Think I Lost My Headache” off of Rated R. Then the reviews started coming out, saying it’s a REINVENTION and a feel good hit of the summer (no pun intended). I mean, the music press is always right when it comes to these types of things, right?
My ears have heard the stylings of Villains twice now, and upon second listen, I’ve given four tracks a rating of “good.” There’s just something about this album that rubs me the wrong way, mainly in a sense that it is largely forgettable. The standouts on this album, the previously mentioned “The Evil Has Landed” and opening track “Feet Don’t Fail Me,” both touch on different aspects of rock, with the Queens touching on their stoner rock, alternative metal roots in the former, while the latter is a funky little number that is filled with swagger and an almost ironic chest beating of singer Josh Homme saying “Hey everyone, look at me, I’m Josh Homme and I worked hard to get here.” Seems dickish, but it works.
The other tracks, however, don’t fair too well. Half of the album is bizarrely synth-heavy, which is something I would never really think of occurring in a band like this. However, this does work in some spots like “Fortress,” which hearkens back to atmospheric content on good ol’ Era Vulgaris. “Fortress” instantly reminded me of songs like “Into the Hollow,” an all-time favorite of mine.
Maybe it’s just me, but I just don’t see what hooplah from the press is all about. I’ve seen a countdown where someone said that Villains is their “third best album,” which is categorically false. It’s definitely fighting to eek Lullabies to Paralyze off the bottom of the list (another mediocre album that at least provided some bangers like “In My Head,” “Tangled Up In Plaid,” and “Little Sister”). However, it isn’t bad. I’ve heard worst from artists I hold near and dear to my heart (Killing Joke’s Outside The Gate comes to mind, which is something I’ll have to go on about at a later time because that album is B-A-D-BAD). It’s simply mediocre. For some people, this might be their feel good hit of the summer album, even though summer is over and nature will start to die off soon for a few months, making me want to blast “Into the Hollow” at 2am on a chilly autumn night.
I’ll probably revisit this album when I go through a QOTSA binge and, who knows, maybe it’ll grow on me. Otherwise, I think I’ll be leaving this one on the CD rack at Record Stop.
