Album Review: Queens of the Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

Queens of the Stone Age
...Like Clockwork
Rating: Grrrr

Josh Homme brings his revolving cast of support players back to life for Queens of the Stone Age's sixth album ...Like Clockwork. In the past, Homme has sometimes bitten off more than he could chew, littering his work with so many guest stars that you felt like he was crashing Timbaland's studio. A lot of his collaborations make sense, for example adding drum god Dave Grohl in the mix on Songs for the Deaf, to me, QOTSA's best and most consistent record. However, some just plain don't work and feel like Homme leaning on the shoulders of his famous friends, i.e., Julian Casablanca's vocals on "Sick Sick Sick," off Era Vulgaris, or Jack Black's "handclaps" on "Burn The Witch" from Lullabies To Paralyze. But more often than not, he gets it right, and thankfully on ...Like Clockwork there is a seamless quality to the flow of the record, and while there are some very heavy hitters here (Trent Reznor and Sir Elton John), no one sticks out like a sore thumb, and they are nicely integrated into the QOTSA fold. In the past, my main issue with QOTSA albums was the fact that there would be two or three amazing, killer singles and the rest, while not horrible, felt an awful lot like filler. Going into first listens of ...Like Clockwork this weighed heavy in the back of my mind, however, I was pleasantly surprised how cohesive and solid this record was.

For me, QOTSA excel when they just let the riffs rip and the volume amp up. There are almost too many treasures here to choose from, with Homme feeling more inspired that he has in years. The blistering onslaught of "My God Is The Sun" drives on forcefully under Grohl's fierce drums, squalling guitar work, and fuzz bass,



album highlight "If I Had A Tail" is a proto-Rolling Stones bluesified strut,



"I Sat By The Ocean" is a slowly building track of intertwining guitars, handclaps, and a steady backbeat,



while the raucous "Fairweather Friends" features an all-star cast of supporting players (Trent Reznor, Sir Elton John, Nick Oliveri, and Mark Lanegan) but somehow they all fit into the mix together with no showboating.

And there are lots of more toned down moments that add to the flow of the record while not making things come to a full stop. "The Vampyre of Time and Memory" is a elegantly goth ballad, focusing on gorgeous piano and Homme's supple voice, closing title track is a surprisingly moving piano ballad with Homme stretching his voice high into his upper register, and "Kalopsia" is an atmospheric, relatively understated collaboration between Homme and Reznor,



Seriously, I was expecting ...Like Clockwork to be another middling record from QOTSA that I would pilfer for the killer singles, leaving the flotsom and jetsum of the filler tracks culled on the wayside. Imagine my immense surprise when the record turned out not only to be one of QOTSA's best records but, quite frankly, also one of the best rock records of the year. Sorry Mr. Homme for ever doubting you and your talent.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Non-Sequiturs

Ditch the skirt and we are talking.

Furry dad.

Lean and tight.

Furry belly and nips.

His abs make me die a little.

A lot more.

SBJ.

Grrrrr.

Love that stomach.

Beefy.

Handsome.

Oink.

The face is a little psycho, but love the abs.

Summer is coming.

Need to cool off.

Luscious fur.

Shy and cute.

Mischievous looking.

Cute.

Bear underwater.

I don't usually go for pretty, but damn.

The eyes have it.

Grrrrr.

Needs a refill.

Beard and ball cap.

Someone needs help.

Damn.

Nerd + Studly = Nerdly.

Lovely.

Damn.

Damn Damn Daddy.

Woof.

I want to rub his abs badly.

Stretch.

Almost too much belly.  Almost.

UNF.

Drool.

Yes, please.

Great stomach and love the hint of back fur.

Speedo bear.

Shhhh, he's sleeping.

Groink!

Here's your towel.

Wow.

I have the only cat in the world that is not interested in boxes or shopping bags.

If I call you dude or bro, it is not meant as a compliment.

I could never live in a small town again.

I love listening to anti-Apple people huff and puff about how evil the company is. Makes me laugh.

Yes.

While I am pleased that people can use websites like Kickstarter to fund projects and adventures, there is a part of me that thinks more would be gotten out of the experience by working hard and making the money on your own rather than relying on donations.

Just because your relationship is monogamous does not make your relationship superior to another's. It just means that is what works for you. There are a million different types of relationships and it is up to each person and couple to figure out what works best for them.  Likewise, what I and my partner decide to call our relationship (married, partnered, dating, whatever) is for us to decide.  There is no time limit as to when we can call ourselves married.

If your name is Vlad, I will always end it by saying ...the Impaler.

Likewise, if your last name is Khan, I will say it like Captain Kirk: KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!

The other night I had a very disturbing dream where the singer John Grant was trying to make out with me, and I was not interested, and the only way to get him off of me was to tell him I gave his record a bad review.

Again, yes.

You can have too much beard.

I hate when I actually become friends with guys who have been featured in the above photos. Makes it weird wanting to use their photos again.

I want to take people who go up and down one flight on an elevator and show them the stairwell, then push them down it.

I just ordered a gallon of lube online. I am officially a pig.

Excellent.

Josh Homme is a sexy motherfucker.

I have little to no time for people who want to be friends at their convenience. It is understandable to have less time to do things when you first date someone, but when you disappear for months at a time with no contact, then magically pop back into my life when you get dumped or do the dumping, I am not going to go out of my way to make time for you.

Sex before going to the gym is good, but creates havoc with one's focus once there.

A friend of mine recently said that he despised video games. Despise is a rather strong word, don't you think?

Love this series of photographs.

My fingernails apparently grow ridiculously long in an instant. I swear they were fine this morning when I woke up, but now at work they look huge.

Multiple listens to the new Daft Punk album actually make it worse.

The after-party at Xion is like the cantina scene in Star Wars.

Americans will never understand the Eurovision song contest.  And following my European friends on FB talking about it in their newsfeed is a bit like watching a David Lynch movie translated into Tourettes.

This picture simultaneously thrills me and makes me want to puke.

It seems that The Masquerade has finally fixed their shitty sound problem.

All the Angelina Jolie hatred about her double mastectomy is rather harsh.

The makeup of the audience for the James Blake concert was about 40% hipsters, 10% brobrahs, and 30% whoo girls. Seriously, at one point I thought all the girls were going to begin throwing their panties on stage. Thank goodness I had my earplugs in.

Pictures of men touching/holding their beards are just weird. I don't sit around touching my beard provocatively.

LOL.

I am an atheist. I don't make any qualms about it. Also, I don't rub it in anyone's face. Faith, or lack of faith, or whatever is a personal thing and should be kept personal, in my opinion. I don't need to be saved and you can save your breath and your 87,287,364,750,926,374,635,364,129,282 Facebook posts about it.

Based on my love for James Blake's second album Overgrown, I have come back to the table and have developed a better impression of his debut album.

Sometimes olives can bring ecstasy.

When someone makes a poorly put together sandwich  my soul cries.

All this mental masturbation over the new Daft Punk record is getting tiresome.

Your cute for the day.  Overload edition.

Lyrics Rattling Through My Brain

"You cross this line
Do you find it hard to say it with me tonight?
I’ve walked these miles but I’ve walked in straight line
You’ll never know what was there to be
Fine

I’m wasting my young years
It doesn’t matter here
I’m chasing more ideas
It doesn’t matter here

Baby…
We are
We are
Baby, I’m wasting my young years
Baby…
We are
We are
Baby, I’m wasting my young years

Don’t you know that it’s all I feel?
I wouldn’t worry, you have all the love
I’ve heard it takes some time to get it behind

I’m wasting my young years
It doesn’t matter here
I’m chasing more ideas
It doesn’t matter here

Baby…
We are
We are
Baby, I’m wasting my young years
Baby…
We are
We are
Baby, I’m wasting my young years

I don’t know what you want
Don’t leave me hanging on
Don’t know what you want
Don’t leave me hanging on."

London Grammar
"Wasting My Young Years"

"A gardener told me some plants move
But I could not believe it
Till me and Hannah Hunt
Saw crawling vines and weeping willows
As we made our way from Providence to Phoenix

A man of faith said
Hidden eyes could see what I was thinking
I just smiled and told him
That was only true of Hannah
And we glided on through Waverley and Lincoln

Our days were long our nights no longer
Count the seconds, watching hours
Though we live on the US dollar
You and me, we got our own sense of time

In Santa Barbara, Hannah cried
Amidst those freezing beaches
And I walked into town
To buy some kindling for the fire,
Hannah tore the New York Times up into pieces

If I can't trust you then damn it Hannah,
There's no future, there's no answer
Though we live on the US dollar
You and me, we got our own sense of time."

Vampire Weekend
"Hannah Hunt"

"I survived the dinner
And the air went thinner
I retired to the briars by the pool
It gets so loud

If I die this instant
Taken from the distance
They will probably list it down
Among other things round town

Got my rings around me
I got baby to pound me
I see stars and go weak
My baby cries and lays me down

In the skies over black Venice
I see eyes of a white menace
The surprise of the week
Is that I never heard the sound

And all the L.A. women
Fall asleep while swimming
I got paid to fish 'em out
And then one day I lost the job

And I cried a little
I got fried a little
Then she laid her eyes on mine
And she said, "Babe, you're better off"

I got my rings around me
I got baby to pound me
I see stars and go weak
My baby cries and lays me down

In the skies over black Venice
I see eyes of a white menace
The surprise of the week
Is that I never heard the sound

Tunnel vision lights my way
Leave a little life today

As a free-fall advances
I'm the moron who dances
Ahhahhhahhhahhhahhahh
I was teething on roses
I was in guns and noses
Ahhahhhahhhahhhahhahh

Under the withering white skies of humiliation
Under the withering white skies of humiliation

Tunnel vision lights my way
Leave a little life today
Tunnel vision lights my way
Leave a little life today

She wore blue velvet
Said she can't help it
She wore blue velvet
Said she can't help it
She wore blue velvet
Said she can't help it."

The National
"Humiliation"

Appealing Things

Trouble Will Find Me
When Saints Go Machine
London Grammar
Concerts getting out before 10:30 pm (yes, I am officially old)
Queens of the Stone Age
Warm weather finally here

Annoying Things

People who post pics of their surgery incisions and other gross medical stuff
Attention whores
Random Access Memories
Whoo girls
100+ degree temperatures in a concert venue