The Red Circle

By Tom Nix

It was spoken in 2009: There was word of a band that would see the masterminds behind Queens of the Stone Age and Foo Fighters team up with the bassist from possibly the greatest hard rock band in history. Excitement and expectations skyrocketed. Josh Homme, Dave Grohl and John Paul Jones all in a band together? Consider me sold. Now there’s just the important matter of “is the record any good?”

As it turns out, Them Crooked Vultures is one of the best albums of the year, and one of the defining records of the late 2000’s mainstream rock genre.

The album has a very bluesy feel, evident from the first track, “No One Loves Me, And Neither Do I.” The song itself is probably one of the most honest portrayals of paying for sex in the modern era (“I told her I was rich, and she asked ‘could you use a dirty bitch?’… Of course”). It also introduces the groups ability to not only exploit, but absolutely dominate tone transitions. It takes merely two minutes and thirty five seconds of barely-there laid-back funk build-up before the song rips a hole in the cool continuum to showcase a groove that is indicative of what the rest of the album has in store. Them Crooked Vultures makes music for you to move your hips to. When, where, how and with whom you partake in these pelvic thrusts is open to interpretation.

“Mind Eraser (No Chaser),” and “New Fang” deliver straight on-rock anthems a little reminiscent of the standard Queens fare (the latter even incorporates a horn section outro). Truth be told, there’s a pretty steady mix of old and new on this record.

Grohl provides just the right amount of embellishment on his loud and upfront power-drumming. Jones provides the best bass guitar parts that have ever been associated with his cohorts. The man is, quite frankly, a virtuoso player – his playing is subtle here, but there is no mistaking the prowess in which Jonesy attacks his instrument. This leaves Josh Homme to stand and deliver his trademark blistering guitar parts, as well as immersing the whole procedure in a vat of eroticism. Homme has long been the sexiest tough guy in rock, his velvet tenor an odd accompaniment to his chugging guitar-driven music. His delivery, phrasing, and vocal sound effects (Listen to “Spinning in Daffodils” to understand what I mean) push this music to a place that is untread, even by the primary bands these guys are famous for. More than anyone, Josh seems to have had the most input on the sound of Them Crooked Vultures.

Which isn’t to say he dominates the record. Oddly enough, the album is mixed much like a tossed salad. There are insane guitar solo spots in “Scumbag Blues” that are played at very much the same mix level as the rhythm moog part. The band seems to understand that sonically, everyone is important, and therefore no one gets the fore. It’s an odd choice to go with the “wall of sound” option on an album so technically accomplished and variant.

Songs like “Elephants” showcase the bands transitional perfection, as the song – one of the album’s standouts – switches at will from a southern rock shitkicker to a pounding, infectious groove, into an almost ethereal layered chorus – and then back again. In the hands of a lesser band, these drastic tone changes would be unnecessary and hamfisted. With a band this good, the song wouldn’t have been as effective without those style clashes. The shift from one gear to the next becomes the most inviting part of the tune.

If the album has a weakness, it’s that it really only has one speed. Aside from the out-of-place “Interlude with Ludes,” a smoked-out head trip of a detour, it’s that sort of bluesy dance rock that just barely avoids eye contact with the type of music that plays in strip clubs. Not that the album would be out of place there – Aside from the raunchy “No One Loves Me…,” there’s also a track called “Caligulove” about, well, pretty much the most depraved fucking imaginable. Add the album’s penultimate track, “Gunman,” and you’re really only missing a pair of pasties. This song may be the most aggressive dance groove ever recorded. It’s the kind of song that threatens to snap your spine if you’re not boogie-ing hard enough. I find it hard to criticize the “a collection of songs” approach to album-making when the majority of the songs collected are as good as these.

The album, while not entirely busting down the genre of mainstream rock, certainly has an energy and groove missing from a lot of that subsection’s mainstays like Nickelback, Seether and Daughtry.  Homme is 36, Grohl is 40, and Jones 63, But this is not middle-aged music. This is a band who is playing their music with the passion of a early-twenty-something band just out of Austin who is trying to break into the scene. They have a message for everyone listening, and that message is “Fuck this. Let’s dance.” This record will most likely be their only release. It’s a disheartening thought, but not regrettable. The disc in infinitely listenable. According to iTunes, I have played “Gunman” 73 times. I am not biased.

Them Crooked Vultures is a band comprised of members of Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters, and Led Zeppelin. Them Crooked Vultues is a record that exceeds the expectations.

9 out of 10

Share