Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 11/06/07
Label: Interscope

It's no surprise that Queens Of The Stone Age's fifth album asks questions about fame. After all, Josh Homme has occasionally found himself at fame's sharp end. First, his personal life was dragged into the public by his wife's ex-husband (Rancid singer Tim Armstrong); then, his last album, "Lullabies To Paralyze", found itself overshadowed by the publicity attending Nick Oliveri's sacking. Eventually, Homme got tired of defending the decision and explained that the oft-naked bassist was sacked on suspicion of beating his girlfriend. Seemingly, it suited everyone to ignore that; Oliveri is still a talking point.

He shouldn't be. Queens are doing fine without him. Where "Lullabies…", an excellent record, suffered for being overlong, "Era Vulgaris" cuts out the fat. Gone, largely, are the guest appearances that tended to crowd past QOTSA records. The Strokes' singer Julian Casablancas may play synth-guitar on "Sick Sick Sick", but you can hardly tell; Mark Lanegan may sing backing vocals on "River In The Road" but he's no longer the auxiliary frontman he was during the "Songs For The Deaf" era. Instead, this record is a Josh Homme joint, and that'll do fine. After all, Homme's unmistakable voice and (more importantly) inventive riffs have always provided the band's heartbeat.

In his Kyuss days, Josh Homme's guitar playing inspired a whole new genre (named, to his chagrin, "stoner rock"). With QOTSA he continues to outdo himself. Here, "Battery Acid" and "Sick Sick Sick" prove particularly worthy of a place in the canon. Yet, the Queens being the Queens, "Era Vulgaris" is not a pure hard rock record. The industrial-strength psychedelia that characterised the band's 2005 live shows makes a welcome reappearance on opener "Turning On The Screw"; "Make It Wit Chu" explores sleazy bar-blues; "Into The Hollow" assays dreamy guitar-pop; and "Misfit Love" is almost a dance track.

Much has changed in Homme's world since we last heard from him. After touring "Lullabies…" too heavily, he took a break during which he became a father and started, it seems, to ponder and critique the mind-set he grew up with: the one that made getting a real job a last resort. "I'm Designer" profiles a generation obsessed with fortune and fame but unprepared to work hard for either. Yet Homme has some sympathy with those unable to commit themselves to anything; after all, it's not like dazzling choices are available. "You've made me an offer that I can refuse, 'cos either way I get screwed", he sings. "My generation don't trust no-one…It's hard to blame."

Not content with making a diverse, punchy record brimming with those trademark riffs, Homme has written lyrics that make you think. Honestly: forget about Nick Oliveri...

    by Niall O'Keeffe