Queens of the Stone Age — Villains Review
Homme & Co. shake it up
Queens of the Stone Age, the venerable rock group headed by Josh Homme released their seventh studio album entitled Villains to fanfare and fan worry. Queens brought Mark Ronson (“Uptown Funk,” Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black) in as producer and many fans were concerned that Ronson would shift the band towards pop.
Fans had nothing to worry about. Villains’ opener “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now” let’s everybody know that this is still Queens through-and-through. A near two minutes of buildup creates tension thick enough to cut and then it all comes bursting out. Jon Theodore, who joined the band for 2013’s …Like Clockwork, backs Homme’s signature voice with a driving drum beat as fuzzy guitar licks abound.
The lead single “The Way You Used To Do” dives further into Homme’s love for music that can make you dance, while keeping a bite and cynicism that Queens have come to be known for. Nothing is quite as it appears, and the band have mastered the eerily disconcerting shifts needed to keep listeners on their toes.
Ronson’s influence is few and far between, seemingly acting more as a nip-and-tuck producer to keep the album wound tightly throughout. The albums shift towards faster tempos, at least compared to …Like Clockwork, is a welcome change that gives the album a much more playful vibe than the dark and brooding previous album.
Not to say that Homme doesn’t go to dark places. “Fortress” and “Hideaway” delve into the depths explored by the band previously, while giving these ideas and themes a different delivery system. “Fortress” strikes a chord with a more electronic soundscape and calm, accepting vocals from Homme.
“Head Like A Haunted House” is the shortest track on the album, at under 3:30, and it savagely rips it’s way through that run time. Sandwiched in-between two longer, slower tracks it is deftly placed to break up any monotony in tone that could have otherwise been exhibited in the middle of the album.
“The Evil Has Landed” and “Villains of Circumstance” close out the album with two intense and careening dives through Homme’s mindset. “Villains of Circumstance” breaks into a decidedly different direction while keeping Homme’s dark and witty lyricism at the forefront.
Queens of the Stone Age have produced yet another album full of great tunes, and this time you can dance to most of them. Villains might not hit the emotional heights of …Like Clockwork or the intensity of Songs for the Deaf, but it is a smart, slick, and strong album to redefine a 20-year-old band that doesn’t seem to show any sign of slowing down.
Standout tracks
- Feet Don’t Fail Me
- Fortress
- The Evil Has Landed
- Domesticated Animals
- all of them
