Best New Music: Them Crooked Vultures

[Tim-Æ]

I think Josh Homme is one of the best pure musicians around right now. He's a great collaborator and while many can argue that a lot of his projects sound similar (which they don't, there's a distinct sound between Queens of the Stone Age and the Eagles of Death Metal), there's no denying that his voice is insanely harmonic and he has a knack for great hooks. He's also extremely multi-talented.

Dave Grohl...well...he's a great drummer. If you want someone to play drums in your band, you should call Dave Grohl, because he's one of the best, and doesn't do it enough anymore.

John Paul Jones...well...no defense needed.

combined they are Them Crooked Vultures, the newest supergroup but a minimal one. Unlike the usual supergroups we've seen - Audioslave, A Perfect Circle, Velvet Revolver - this supergroup is minimal, but their output is on par with those supergroups already mentioned. I've given their debut album, self titled, a few spins in the last 24 hours and I must say that what I was expecting is not what I got. I heard a live clip a few months back and just felt it was a poor collaboration, but damn, this band has really come together quite well I must say. The songs, 13 of them, range in styles, while still maintaining that similar theme and sound.

This hits shelves next week, physically, but you can find it and download it, plus its streaming on youtube in full right now. It's good to hear Homme singing and with a great drummer and of course a great bassist. There's a mixture of sounds on this record, something I wasn't expecting. Most mainstream rock releases are pretty basic. They offer little diversity and keep one note throughout. But on Them Crooked Vulture's album there's quite a bit going on, more than you would think honestly.

The first single "New Fang" is exactly what you'd hope for from a collaboration with these three geniuses. And while I'm not the biggest fan of Grohl's singing (I loathe the Foo Fighters), his drumming is fantastic.

The final argument people can make is that this is just a Queens of the Stone Age album, since Homme is in typical form, and as usual its just a revolution of musicians helping out. Grohl's drummed with Homme before on the Queens record "songs for the deaf" and even did some touring with them. However, this is where they are fully collaborating. Homme writes all of the music for Queens, so Them Crooked Vultures is their collective talents working together, and the end result is one of the better mainstream pure rock records you're going to find this year. It's a hell of a lot better than any Foo Fighters record in the last 15 years, and way better than the last Queens of the Stone Age record "Era Vulgaris."

B+

[TheOuotcastLegendTheWolf]

I'm glad that you are a HUGE Josh Homme fan, but I feel the need to re-butt...

HE F*CKING SUCKS!

Sorry, but I'm one of the ones who says that QOTSA and EODM sound exactly the f*cking same, and to me I wasn't impressed with them in the first place. I will be honest and say that my experience with Eagles of Death Metal (ironic name for a glorified rock/folk band) is limited, and prob. skewed, but what I have heard is CRAP! I don't think that his voice is all that great, although he CAN flow with a harmony, but that is basic music theroy, and it takes more than a few "quirky" songs to make me feel that he and his bands are worth my time. For a while there I felt the same way about jack Black, what with the Racontours (Or how ever ya spell it) and The White Stripes being VERY similar, regardless of the arangements and the fact that in one band there is only two members. But The White Stripes grew on me, and a few songs from the Racontours kick ass too.

I will agree that Dave Grohl belongs behind the kit any time he can be, becuase the dude F*CKING owns! Hell, even if he just played a damn drum solo for 2 hours, the crowd would leave happy, the guy is THAT GOOD (It's just too bad that most of the world only knows his drumming from Nirvana, where he was nothing but background to a glorified punk band. A great one, but glorified punk band jsut the same.)

I guess what I am trying to say is that regardless of how great the rythm section is, I will find it hard to get past a vocal that I don't personally enjoy. But then again, we all like different things, so its all good!

[Tim-Æ]

I'm glad that you are a HUGE Josh Homme fan, but I feel the need to re-butt...

HE F*CKING SUCKS!

Sorry, but I'm one of the ones who says that QOTSA and EODM sound exactly the f*cking same, and to me I wasn't impressed with them in the first place. I will be honest and say that my experience with Eagles of Death Metal (ironic name for a glorified rock/folk band) is limited, and prob. skewed, but what I have heard is CRAP! I don't think that his voice is all that great, although he CAN flow with a harmony, but that is basic music theroy, and it takes more than a few "quirky" songs to make me feel that he and his bands are worth my time. For a while there I felt the same way about jack Black, what with the Racontours (Or how ever ya spell it) and The White Stripes being VERY similar, regardless of the arangements and the fact that in one band there is only two members. But The White Stripes grew on me, and a few songs from the Racontours kick ass too.

I will agree that Dave Grohl belongs behind the kit any time he can be, becuase the dude F*CKING owns! Hell, even if he just played a damn drum solo for 2 hours, the crowd would leave happy, the guy is THAT GOOD (It's just too bad that most of the world only knows his drumming from Nirvana, where he was nothing but background to a glorified punk band. A great one, but glorified punk band jsut the same.)

I guess what I am trying to say is that regardless of how great the rythm section is, I will find it hard to get past a vocal that I don't personally enjoy. But then again, we all like different things, so its all good!

fair enough, unfortunately though Jack Black is not in the White Stripes.

[TheOuotcastLegendTheWolf]

Man I was typing this after being up around 25 hrs, so I'm shocked that it the worst that I messed up on

Of course i meant JACK WHITE (Face slap)

[Geordie]

Jesus, you couldn't have gotten that any more wrong, Wolfie my friend... Unless you stated that you wanted to listen to it on your Orange iPod, which would just be sad. heh

Anyhow, on to the album... I like this album as well.  Personally, I think this is up there with the best stuff Homme has done since '02 when No One Knows came out from QOTSA (Although Little Sister is a good head-banger at times... I'll wait for the incest jokes.)

My favorites so far are "Scumbag Blues" and "Mind Eraser (No Chaser)".  LOVE the almost Zeppelin-like dynamic to some of these songs as well; definitely worth at least one listen.

[TheOuotcastLegendTheWolf]

HEY! I use a Zune, not an ipod