ALBUM REVIEW: "Villains" by Queens of the Stone Age

It's obviously taken me far to long to get into Queens of the Stone Age, because Villans, my first experience of the band, is a damn good rock album. After a subdued intro on opener "Feet Don't Fail Me" the first of many killer riffs lets rip, and it's glorious. Infused with some distinctly 80s-sounding synths, the build up is pitch perfect as the simple but effective groove takes hold, complete with a wah-pedal on the bass guitar adding a funk edge. The production sounds a lot like classic Stones or Zeppelin, giving it a homey, familiar sound beneath the toe-tapping and riffage. The band aren't afraid to branch out and experiment, either, with a number of songs breaking the six minute mark with winding, linear structures and proggy passages. One of the things I love about the band's sound is the variety in guitar tones without loss of cohesion - there are so many funky sounds and odd moments across the album, but they never feel out of place or jarring ("The Way You Used To" is a great example of this). As a huge fan of the fuzz it's also great to hear that warmth and grungy filth all over Villains. There really isn't a weak moment on here - the tight 9 song track-listing has evidently trimmed all the fat - and you can take your pick of which of these tracks will get a festival crowd moving. My only gripe with the album is to do with the vocal performance - for the most part it's great, but I guess after a few runs through a lack of dynamic variety or excitement became more apparent to me. This might not be a problem for a lot of people, considering how tastefully written the melodies are throughout, but for me it started to become a slight issue. Overall I was completely drawn by Villains, and it'll be on my summer playlists for sure.

Favourite Tracks: Feet Don't Fail Me, The Way You Used To, Fortress, Un-Reborn Again and The Evil Has Landed

Rating: A

Comments

1 YEAR LATER: "22, A Million" by Bon Iver

Bon Iver's third studio album turns 1 in about a week (where did that year go?), so I thought it would be interesting to talk a bit about how my impressions of the album have changed - or how they haven't - over the last 12 months. When this album was released I was more excited than I think I ever have been to hear a new album. For Emma, Forever Ago is one of my all time favourites, and I love his self-titled second album too, so I had huge expectations for this album, but was also wary that expectations might ruin my experience of the music. This was particularly the case for 22, A Million , because it is unlike anything else Justin Vernon has released. There have been hints at this more processed, electronic direction previously, like the song "Woods" on the Blood Bank EP and occasional flourishes on Bon Iver , but 22, A Million is a drastic departure from the Bon Iver sound we had grown accustomed to at this point in time. Or at least, that's what I thought...

ALBUM REVIEW: "Go Farther In Lightness" by Gang Of Youths

Where do you go after penning an hour-long tale of a relationship doomed by terminal cancer and subsequent depression, substance abuse and suicide attempts? The fact that Gang of Youths frontman and songwriter David Le'aupepe had anything left to say - let alone an EP and then a double album epic - in the two years since 2015's beautifully tragic The Positions is quite frankly remarkable. For Go Farther In Lightness to be as compelling and emotionally draining as it is, then, is mind-blowing. The musical well was obviously still rich for Gang of Youths, and they have released a sprawling epic that stands up confidently next to The Positions . Symphonic interludes provide a grand backdrop for the decidedly larger sounding album that also manages to slip in some of the most intimate moments in their already sparkling catalogue. It's this feeling of comprehensiveness - that they have covered all bases - that makes Go Farther In Lightness such a rich and immersive experien...

ALBUM REVIEW: "A Man Apart" by Ben Ottewell

Ben Ottewell's third LP A Man Apart goes boldly where he has been before, and while it certainly does that pretty well it doesn't manage to either strike new ground or any real emotional response. There is a distinctly "nice" feel to this record, which is, um, nice I guess if that's what you want. But it just doesn't feel like there's any immediacy or forward motion on any of these songs, like Ottewell is content with writing songs that could be on four wheel drive ads. Again, there isn't really anything particularly bad here, it's just a singer-songwriter album that isn't trying to break new ground. His typically growly voice is also beginning to give way to a more accessible, smooth tone, which could place you on either side of this record. For me it just cements it's place firmly in the middle ground somewhere. Favourite Songs: Own It, A Man Apart and Lead Me Least Favourite Songs: Watcher, Back To The World and Bones ...

Read Poets Society

Search This Blog