Notofu.com: Them Crooked Vultures
Published by: Notofu.com
Date: November 16, 2009
Format: Web (www.notofu.com)
Type: Music Review
Vultures Cross Generations, Divide Opinion
This past summer, when a mysterious message appeared on the website of Metro, a Chicago venue, announcing a secret Lollapalooza after show, the speculation began and the tickets disappeared. The symbols were the logos of The Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin and Queens of the Stone Age and a it wasn’t long before a succession of numbers was translated to mean, “Them Crooked Vultures,” but still, no one really know what it all meant. Who exactly would it be? What would they be doing? What would it sound like? In the end, when Dave Grohl (drums), John Paul Jones (bass) and Josh Homme (guitar, vocals) took the stage at Metro, that last night of Lollapalooza, and the live blogging ensued, Them Crooked Vultures, the world’s next super group, was realized.
Them Crooked Vultures, the band’s debut, self-titled full-length, released just three months after that first show, is a mostly straightforward, heavy hitting rock record. It begins with “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I,” one of the most evident examples of John Paul Jones’ presence. The song is reminiscent of Led Zeppelin, especially in the drumming and the vocals, which may be Grohl and Homme paying homage to the road that Jones helped pave long before either of their time.
Next is the album’s first single, “Mind Eraser, No Chaser.” Here the band settles into a radio friendly version of what makes up most of the rest of the record, big, fast rock. Next, the trio furiously blazes through seven more songs before taking a break with “Interlude With Ludes,” a strange and trippy song of nearly four minutes, including the lyrics, “Did you just hear something crazy?” The answer after hearing this oddly placed song is “Yes,” and then it’s back to four more tracks of the previous groove-heavy rock.
In the end, Them Crooked Vultures at times feels like it’s never going to end. The thirteen songs could have easily been pared down to ten and I don’t think I would have minded or noticed. Too many similar sounding songs in a row make one song just as unmemorable as the next one or the one before it. This record feels rushed or even formulaic at times, and although I am a fan of all three members’ past and current separate musical endeavors, I can’t seem to get behind Them Crooked Vultures. This band may just serve as evidence that not every jam session between old friends or respected peers needs to be taken this far. Maybe Them Crooked Vultures should have stayed a jam session.
2/5