WHO ARE THEY? A hard-hitting indie-rock foursome from Brooklyn who have been in the trenches for more than 20 years — which makes them not just one of the best bands most folks have never heard, but also one of the oldest.
WHAT IS THIS? Their seventh full-length studio album and 10th release overall — and an essential album for anyone who likes their rock infused with a thick, rich vein of dark matter.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? Mostly, like Queens of the Stone Age, thanks chiefly to the band’s cocky, swaggering grooves and melodic crooning. But you can also hear traces of Black Sabbath’s stoner sludge, Alice in Chains’ ominous grunge and plenty of others over the course of this beefy 10-song slab.
WHAT WOULD BE A BETTER TITLE FOR THIS ALBUM? Well, its actual title apparently serves as “a bitter acknowledgment that the modern world in all of its absurdity, vanity, sham, exploitation, and cruelty stands as the culmination of a 4 billion year uninterrupted chain of life on earth. We are the fruit of all that has come to pass before us, the pinnacle of creation, the acme of reality.” That kind of limits your options.
HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? While sitting in the dark by yourself taking barbiturates, drinking red wine and eating meat.
WHAT 10 WORDS DESCRIBE IT? Menacing, hefty, confrontational, provocative, political, underground, bruised, impactful, grave, flowing.
WHAT ARE THE BEST SONGS? Can’t Do This In Your Head, Faks, Dorito Dreams and Romance could be some of the best songs Josh Homme hasn’t written yet.
WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY SAY? ‘How have these guys managed to stay under the radar for more than two decades?’
HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO THIS? Once it gets its hooks in you — and it will — you’ll find yourself under its spell.
IF THIS ALBUM WERE AN ANIMAL, WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL WOULD IT BE? Some sort of poisonous reptile or insect — or almost anything else but a damn giraffe.
SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL IT? Stick your neck out and take a risk.
