Queens of the Stone Age - makers of magic. My goodness. Seven albums later and almost twenty years on, they're still giving us a lesson in badassery. After their last album ...Like Clockwork (my number one album of 2013) I wasn't too sure whether they'd be making another record and to be honest, I was worried that if they did, it might be the album that made them fall from grace. Oh, how naive I was. QOTSA in at number 6 with Villains.
This was actually the first album this year that I listened to the minute that it was released. My initial feelings when listening ranged from pure giddiness to underlying nostalgia. Watching an interview of Josh talking through Villains one thing he said really stuck out to me. He said "I don't understand why the dance-ability has left rock and roll music" and he's right! Rock music in recent years has been slowly shimmy-ing away from "dance-y" music, lest it be compared to pop music. I think we forgot that you can still make music that hits hard without losing a beat that can make you do more than just nod your head. QOTSA have 100% hit the nail on the head with this album, and oh so effortlessly.
My favourites that have stuck since first listen have got to be "Fortress", "The Evil Has Landed" and "Feet Don't Fail Me". Josh's voice is ageless. One song that embarassingly crept up on me - and I say embarassingly, because it should've never had to creep - is "Domesticated Animals". What a gem! Possibly my current favourite to be honest. The levels to this song are something else. The thumping beat almost makes you miss how melodic Josh's voice is here. A skulking rhythm with a positively chipper vocal - it's this combo that make QOTSA such a force to be reckoned with.
Check out what I had to say about 2016's number six choice here.
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