Era Vulgaris (Parental Advisory) [PA] - Queens Of The Stone Age > Reviews > Another strong album from QotSA

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Definitely a cut above the rest
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Some fantastic songs, yet another new style
Disadvantages:	takes a bit to get going

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

It was a funny one this. As a big Queens of the Stone Age fan, somehow I didn't realise they had another album coming out, so I was very excited when I learnt of it.

Listening to the album, and fully appreciating it, took a few attempts. Some of the songs sounded a bit weird to me at first. The two "single" tracks I had already heard (Sick, Sick, Sick and 3's & 7's), both of which are absolutely fantastic, proper rock tunes that you would expect from QotSA. Other tracks take a bit of getting used to, and there doesn't seem to be much cohesion from track to track initially.

The album comes with 13 tracks, as follows:

1. Turnin on the Screw
A nice medium paced start to the album. Lots of grungy guitars and harmonic vocals, but possibly a little too much tambourine. The lyrics are well thought out in my opinion and actually fit to the tempo. A decent start

2. Sick, Sick, Sick
Complete contrast to the first track. This is the first single off the album. Fast paced and more thrashy vocals, pretty much like the vocal work on Little Sister from their previous album (Lullabies to Paralyze). All in all, a good song, but by no means their best

3. I'm Designer
Kind of sounds like the singer is singing through a cloth. There's a lot of muffling, and the vocal range is quite broad, i.e. some fairly unnatural high pitched notes. It's not single material, but it's still very listenable, especially when you reach the harmonic chorus.

4. Into the Hollow
This one sounds a bit haunting to begin with and there's a suggestion that it might get more interesting as the song progresses. Unfortunately it doesn't particularly. Another one with a high pitched chorus I'm afraid. Doesn't exactly leave you wanting more.

5. Misfit Love
Starts off very grungy and fast paced, but slows down into a medium pace, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Again, Josh likes to use the biggest vocal range he possibly can, but this time it sounds really good. Vocals take over a minute to come in, so you can enjoy the guitar riffs in the background. lovely :-)

6. Battery Acid
I know people who don't like this song, and I can understand why they may not. It can seem a little of a throw together, as in parts some of the vocals sound like they're off time from the music. That's simply because the music uses a peculiar beat that sets the song apart from the rest of the album. There are some harmonic bits in this song that sort of make you feel relief from the aggresive nature of the rest of the song. It's all good though.

7. Make It Wit Chu
I can't honestly say I'm a fan of this song. It appeared in the Desert Sessions double album Volume 9 & 10, but sounded better on that than on here. It's a bit too slow and whiny for my taste, but it's good if you're in a mellow mood.

8. 3's & 7's
Another "single" track. Starts off with fast guitar riffs and heavy beats that last throughout, even in the semi-harmonic chorus. This song is full of energy, and possibly the best song on the album.

9. Suture Up Your Future
Another relatively slow track, but for some reason I don't mind this one too much. I think its saving grace is a decent guitar and drum bit later in the track, which gives it that little bit of life.

10. River In The Road
A fast beat combined with a slow(ish) vocal make this song stand out as one of the best on the album. It almost sounds like a marching band on some form of drug. Quality stuff!

11. Run Pig, Run
Another one with fast music and a reasonably slow vocal. It's higher pitched than the previous track, but it sounds fantastic on here. There's a sense of panic that gets your blood going, and makes you want to listen to it more and more, despite a dodgy 5 second guitar riff later on. Ooh, got to put it on now!!

12. Running Joke
Slow, but fantastically melodic. The vocals sound as though this guy's been drinking Guiness earlier on - kind of slurred if you get me. It's a great song, especially once the instruments all join in.

13. Era Vulgaris
The title track. There are two voices singing most of the way through this song, and they compliment each other beautifully. The music is great with clearly distinguishable chorus lines and a very catchy bassline.

There are a lot of people who don't seem to like this album. But it's a funny one. Where most albums start off strong and fizzle out after 5 songs, this one takes a few songs to get going and just gets stronger and better towards the end. I usually look forward to the return journey from work in my car so I can listen to the later songs instead of the first few!