Queens of the Stone Age: '...Like Clockwork" - Review

Queens of the Stone Age show us what it means to rock 

 

Queens of the Stone Age are back and darker than ever with their sixth studio album. “...Like Clockwork” is whiskey soaked, sex filled rock & roll. In other words, it is a breath of fresh air in a time when most “rock” bands are focusing on fashion and celebrity while they sell us watered down crap. Josh Homme is better than ever and this time he brought some friends along for the ride. Dave Grohl, who has previously worked with QOTSA on “Songs for the Deaf” and with Homme and John Paul Jones in the supergroup, Them Crooked Vultures, provides the drumming on the bulk of the album with Trent Reznor, Elton John and many more lending a hand on various tracks.

“...Like Clockwork” explores the idea that humans are animalistic, with dark instincts that lead to chaos, darkness, and a dangerous variety of fun. In the heavy hitting, relentless track “My God is the Sun”, Homme howls, “I don’t know what time it was/I don't wear a watch/So good to be an ant who crawls /Atop a spinning rock”. “If I Had a Tail” is dark and menacing with a sexy shuffle beat reminicent of the “Era Vulgaris” track “Make It Wit Chu”, while Homme ponders all of the deeds he would do if only he had a tail.

The relationship between highs and lows are explored throughout the entire album. Beautiful piano pieces like “The Vampyre of Time and Memory” and “...Like Clockwork”, a track that could easily fit in on a Radiohead album, are intertwined with gritty, loud guitar heavy tracks like “Keep Your Eyes Peeled” and “Kalapsia”. Elton John and Trent Reznor collaborated with QOTSA on the track “Fairweather Friends” and they are able to enhance the song without stealing the show.

The video for Kalapsia, animated by British artist Boneface, begins with the text “ Kalopsia is a condition wherein things appear more beautiful than they are”. Most of us seem to have this condition when it comes to our view of the world. We look through rose colored glasses rather than actually taking action. On “...Like Clockwork” Queens of the Stone Age remind us that we can change the negative entrapments of society, by removing ourselves from the unspoken rules that we all follow. Maybe I'm over thinking it and the overall message is that being bad feels so good. Either way, “...Like Clockwork”, is the best rock album that has come out in years.