Friday, December 4, 2009
Katie Barger
Staff Writer
Big names aside, the three heavy hitters in Them Crooked Vultures have a taste for the strange. Composed of Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters and Nirvana, John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin, and Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age, this supergroup brings new sounds to ears this fall.
With their eponymous debut album, released Nov. 17, Them Crooked Vultures take rock to an entirely new and original level. The band produces edgy arrangements laced with twists in tempo and mood, generating an unusual but powerful sound.
Each rocker brings his own style to the band, creating a near perfect collaboration. Grohl takes his seat back at drums (as he did in Nirvana), Jones stays on bass and wild man Homme is lead guitarist and frontman.
The album shows distinct Queens of the Stone Age influences in Homme’s lo-fi guitar riffs, producing an overall raw sound. Homme’s guitar rattles alongside Grohl’s sharp, heavy drumming, creating awesome rhythmic combinations.
A perfect example of this blend is the album’s opening track, “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I.” It kicks off the album with Grohl’s precise, determined beats leading into Homme’s seductive vocals coupled with his teasingly strange lyrics, a key component of this album’s appeal.
The song “Elephants,” which is more Zeppelin-inspired, starts off with a straightforward beat and repeated guitar riff. The track then erupts into a fast-paced explosion of sound and eventually settles into a brief breather before diving into a fast-paced frenzy.
Another Zeppelin-inspired song included in the album would be “Reptiles,” featuring Jones’ slide guitar expertise.
“Scumbag Blues” starts off with Grohl laying a beat down that leads Them Crooked Vultures into a steady tempo. Homme’s falsetto guides the band into a seductive groove and leaves listeners wanting to dance along with the band. Jones throws in a couple of keyboard solos on “Scumbag Blues,” as well as on first single “Mind Chaser, No Eraser.”
Them Crooked Vultures take the beat down a level with their witty song “Interlude with Interludes.” It is a psychedelic track with a circus-style tone ringing throughout the song. Long, drawn-out guitar notes hum as Homme’s voice coos his freakish lyrics, “Is my face still bleeding?/ Then what is your problem?/ By the skin of my teeth/ That’s how I’m going to drive you.”
The western-style song “Highway One” showcases Jones and his skill playing the electric mandolin, an instrument tuned and played as the mandolin but amplified in parallel fashion to an electric guitar.
The album overall presents upbeat new wave rock, influenced greatly by two of the members’ original bands, Queens of the Stone Age and Led Zeppelin. This band is not just another formulaic rock band knocking out catchy melodies to attract listeners. It’s worth listeners’ time and money simply to get caught in Them Crooked Vultures’ wave of loose, sticky guitar riffs and killer vocals.
“Them Crooked Vultures” is available in record stores and on iTunes for $7.99.
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