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Era Vulgaris | Queens Of The Stone Age
Interscope | 9th June

Review by Yoshua Wakeham

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Sounds like … industrial, deep-fried, desert lightning.

The Queens of the Stone Age underwent a somewhat seismic band reshuffle following the departure of band co-founder Nick Oliveri, so it’s understandable that 2005’s ‘Lullabies to Paralyze’ was creatively stagnant. It was business as usual for the sometime kings of hard rock, an overrated pastiche of mostly forgettable songs. What a pleasant surprise, then, to find the Queens innovating their arses off and all but reinventing themselves on their fifth studio record.

There’s a little of something for everyone on Era Vulgaris, whether it’s the balls-out headache-inducing thrash of first single ‘Sick, Sick, Sick’ or the laidback croon of Desert Sessions redo ‘Make It Wit Chu’. There’s more of lead singer Josh Homme than ever (honestly, try and pick up Julian Casablancas on ‘Sick, Sick, Sick’ or Mark Lanegan on ‘River in the Road’), but it still doesn't feel dictatorial, or at least no more so than any previous QOTSA effort. Homme has always been the creative engine of the band, and on Vulgaris he oils his joints and works like never before. The album is littered with creative highpoints, from riveting opener ‘Turnin’ on the Screw’, through ‘I’m Designer’ and the desert-rock gem ‘Into the Hollow’. It loses itself a bit with the one-two punch of the overcooked ‘Misfit Love’ and extremely aptly-named ‘Battery Acid’, but rights itself with ‘Make It Wit Chu’ and the sublime, brain-frying ‘3’s & 7’s’.

Era Vulgaris benefits from being distinctly leaner than the bloated Lullabies or even 2002’s Songs for the Deaf. Only the enjoyable but bizarre ‘Run, Pig, Run’ really feels self-indulgent; everything else has its place, and feels about the right length. The album ripples, flexes, shows off a bit, and then it’s over – it’s almost like QOTSA have undergone the ‘Buff Zone’ treatment. Absolutely recommended to any fan of blistering, brilliant hard rock.

8 out of 10