Due to the whiteboydancefloor crew's ability (a.k.a inability) to reply to emails, I am sorry to say that you good people are burdened with another ranting post from me rather than something more interesting which the others could produce.
Must be all that Christmas shopping ay hehe... (originally before i fixed the typo I'd written shoppiping... now i wanna go shoppiping instead)
Now speaking of Christmas you've got to be careful because there are so many blogs "working for the man" these days that their best ofs and stocking stuffers are usually the result of whoever can line their pockets the best.
When I was sent out the debut from Them Crooked Vultures... you know... Grohl, Homme & JPJ, I'd already heard and read so many glowing reports that I couldn't wait to tear it apart as just another side project. In my opinion, Foo Fighters are a dwindling force, Homme can't stay friends with many people long enough to produce continued success with the same people and JPJ is just an old guy who used to play in a good band. My JPJ dilemma is like that of any great football player who enters into coaching like Zico or Roy Keane... just because they used to be good at something doesn't mean they still can be.
However in Them Crooked Vultures I find so many of my boxes ticked for a driving, carefree, jam inspired rock album. Surprisingly it is the sum of ALL its parts rather than being the Homme show (like QOTSA ended up) or the Grohl show like Foo Fighters. Honestly I can only put it down to the powers of JPJ at performing the balancing act between ying and yang. On my first listen, I thought the album was like a more instrumentally driven Eagles of Death Metal that you could take seriously. Not a criticism either as I am a huge admirer of Peace. Love. Death Metal.
The indiscriminate nature of the album makes it difficult to find a bad song as such but I think clear stand outs for me would have to be the opener "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I" where things get crazy around the 2:45 mark, I enjoyed the melodic "Reptiles" & ofcourse the punchy "New Fang". Critics will say that the songs can blur together and perhaps it lacks defining moments that stand out over the rest, but for me that is what I look for in an album that is clearly the result of much jamming and 'rocking out' if I am allowed to use that term and sets the tone for what I am certain would be an unbelievable live show. Indeed I found the more listens I gave the album, the more individuality I could find in the songs.
Here is "New Fang"... don't bother watching the clip as it is just shameless and dull promotional bullshit... but honestly buy the album and you won't be disappointed.
Totally unrelated to the music but I am a huge fan of the artwork, I think it serves the music far better than overuse of the well known individuals which comprise the band... yes Velvet Revolver I'm talking of you and your shamelessness that signaled your demise! I don't actually know if they are officially split or what... but they are that mediocre they might as well be dead.
4 comments:
Brodie Dalle on Them Crooked Vultures:
"amazing … just beats and sounds like you've never heard before"
Can't get excited about this band, they are proof that talent rarely stands in the way of ordinary music
yeah i'm not surprised man
honestly i couldnt think of very many bands playing this type of music that really would interest you
not to say your tastes are narrow but perhaps the genre they fit within doesnt really over extend or push itself to impress someone with refined tastes like urself ;)
myself i like it on face value, yunno, it is what it is... and its certainly not QOTSA or Foos enuf for me to dislike it
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