By Mike Stuart
11/06/2007
Queens of the Stone Age are back, with another release of booze-drenched dirty psychedelic rock inspired, according to frontman Josh Homme, by his daily drive through Hollywood. Era Vulgaris is the fifth studio album by the band, and sees them again assaulting the listening public with their brand of distorted guitars and pounding drums.
Josh Homme proves to be a much more versatile vocalist on Era Vulgaris, which has led to much online debate as to whether it is resident growler Mark Lanegan providing vocals on 'River in the Road' and 'Into the Hollow' (it is, in fact, Homme). The highlights of the album are undoubtedly the sexy bounce of 'Make It Wit Chu' and the beautifully fuzzed-out 'Sick, Sick, Sick' featuring Julian Casablancas from The Strokes.
Era Vulgaris is the second Queens of the Stone Age record without former bassist/madman Nick Olivieri in tow. It seems that since Olivieri left following the superb Songs for the Deaf, Josh Homme has been trying to recover from losing such an integral part of their original sound. 2005's Lullabies to Paralyze was a rather disappointing affair and although their new record is certainly a huge step in the right direction, it does still miss some of the flair from their earlier work. Here's looking forward to their next album.
Rating: 6 out of 10
Era Vulgaris is released in the UK on June 11th, 2007
David Jensen Photography:
https://www.davidjensen.co.uk/
