Queens of the Stone Age
...Like
Clockwork
Matador
****
Applied to the incident-strafed trajectories of rock ‘n’ roll bands, the adage “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” doesn’t always hold up. However, where California’s Queens of the Stone Age are concerned, it seems true.
Despite his heart stopping during a routine, 2011 knee operation that went terrifyingly awry, Queens' strapping frontman Josh Homme is on spectacular form here. Riding further irksome line-up changes, he has delivered his band's best work since their hedonistic 2002 cracker, Songs for the Deaf.
Louche, loud and shrouded in an opaque thematic darkness, the album packs such disparate guests as Elton John, Arctic Monkeys’ frontman Alex Turner, and everyone’s favourite stand-in drummer, Dave Grohl. It’s Homme who commands most attention, though.
On the epic, piano-led The Vampyre of Time and Memory and the sassy If I Had a Tail, his powerful vocals sound pleasingly indebted to David Bowie, while his quirky lead-guitars are a treat throughout. ...Like Clockwork also sees Queens shelve their signature sound in places, notably on the woozy, zero-gravity verses of Kalopsia and gnarly funk workout Smooth Sailing.
Both are thrilling departures.
artslife@thenational.ae
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