It is indisputable and perhaps undeserving of mention that far and wide across the interwebs in forums, blogs, magazines and any other media depositories, everyone who rocks out with their cock out (or not!) invariably feels they have found something so awe-inspiring and powerful, so utterly bonkers and brilliant, so fucking genius, that they feel communally impelled to share with us that they also feel, in their most astute and clever opinions, that Them Crooked Vultures sound similar to Zep, QTSA and Nirvana/Foos. No shit, really?!?! I kind of thought they sounded like Abba on my first listen, but that's me.
But seriously, since the concert I saw them at, the subsequent streaming of the entire album on YouTube and now, the finished clarity of the real actual thing, I've been calling these guys filthy -- filthy as in fucks your face up if you're dumb enough to get in front of it. This is simply rock in all of its glorious phases, from the sophisticated time signature shifts to the filthy sludgy boozy jams to the riffs, oh beautiful bruising hammer of the gods riffs, to the fact that this band effortlessly melds classic rock and modern rock -- it's a wonder they gel so well after such short time. The album begins with "Nobody Loves Me & Neither Do I," a great opener that begins fairly innocuously -- almost as if you thought these guys were going to play it safe, stupid and sucky a la Chickenfoot , and then -- oh glorious spark of heaven -- JPJ bass nukes the proceedings. From there it never really lets up: aside from the buoyant but straightforward "New Fang," TCV burns through a litany of rockfests with the weird queasiness of "Interludes With Ludes" to break up the momentum. We get to hear some fantastic Jack Bruce falsetto imitation on one of my favorite tracks, "Scumbag Blues," which features some filthy guitar-work as does "Reptiles," my other favorite. "Elephants" begins fairly ferociously and then settles into a slow tempo throttle. "Warsaw, Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up" is a nasty blues number that morphs into a filthy boogie jam and immediately follows "Interludes" thereby saying, more or less, that the brief break is over. "Spinning With Daffodils" ends the album and begins with a piano intro that is quickly drowned out by crunchy guitar. Oh, and "Gunman" -- this was the filthiest guitar when I saw them in concert, but yet they made the whole song funky as hell. Bad? Oh no, not at all. It's ridiculously good.
All in all, Dave Grohl was a manic beast in concert and that energy isn't quite up to snuff here, but he's still pretty amazing. JPJ is everywhere and lets you know it, and Josh Homme basically wants to pound every riff he can think of into your head. The result? Best album of the year and maybe for the past few years. It's that good.
Oh, and go see them any chance you get!
10 comments:
Stating the obvious, it reminds me a lot like QOTSA last album, which was something that took me awhile to really appreciate. I think it's going to be the same with this album. I like it, but I'm not in love with it.
What I've heard I liked, I plan on getting this album.
the beginning of "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" reminds me "Houses of the Holy" from Led Zeppelin
good album, perhaps the best of 2009
Jeff,
It does in spots. To be expected of course. I never got to grow into it because I saw them live and prior to that I was listening to live performances on youTube. So this is just like live awesomeness but with studio clarity.
Drew,
You will not be disappointed.
ialways,
I agree. There's been some decent stuff this year, but nothing this solid.
Now, i've been known to go on musical tangents, but never like this before. I not only had the pleasure of seeing these fine men in concert with the hatter, but since the 17th when the album came out, I have not voluntarily listened to any other music. To make addictions even worse, I bought a sweet pair of Bose headphones tree days later and have now heard the otherside of this album. It rocks. A stand alone fantastical experience, think i'm on my 50+ listen. I guess the real question is why do I still feel as energized about this album like it was just released. I dont think this one will get burnt out.
Everyone is talking about how great they are. I just missed seeing them in LA but might catch them in Melbourne in January.
I have some interest in this one, but I'll probably add it to the list of 2009 releases that I probably won't get around to buying this year.
It is an enjoyable album and one I also hope to review at some point in the near future. To me it reminded me a bit of Velvet Revolver... except it was much much better. TCV is the kind of band that Velvet Revolver was trying to be. In all fairness, they did succeed at times, but not with the consistency that TCV has shown.
I also have to review Dream Theater's latest and that's been out for several months now.
Too many CDs, too little time.
This album is my pick for the year but followed closely behind by Aussie band Karnivool and their album, Sound Awake.
I think it's going to be the same with this album.
Make Beats
Post a Comment