Album Review: Queens Of The Stone Age - ...Like Clockwork

Full disclosure: this reviewer did not like what he heard when he first put on the long-awaited sixth studio full-length from sons of the desert Queens of the Stone Age. A craving for high octane rock meant that the subtleties of the record were ignored, foolishly it must be said, and the twisted intricacies of the ten tracks did not register.

For ...Like Clockwork is a slow burner. It's a rock record of the more refined variety. And if you take it on its own merits, rather than holding it comparatively to Queens' early-noughties output, you'll soon find yourself sinking into the sludge and sex, sniffing the chemical fumes as you disappear into oblivion. Keeping the hooks and songwriting smarts of Era Vulgaris (2007) and letting it simmer with the haze of 2005's Lullabies To Paralyze, Josh Homme uses that unmistakable high-register croon to full effect, offsetting the swampy blues rock that fills this album to give a hint of light in what is otherwise a claustrophobic listen. That “robot rock” element of the band is no longer a dominant factor. You still hear it, yes (If I Had A Tail, My God Is The Sun), but it's more about the journey, I Appear Missing the perfect example of how this record can drive you into the dark horizon. And as for the much vaunted Elton John guest spot on Fairweather Friends... it all makes complete sense when brought to life in audio.

...Like Clockwork shows that Queens are still depraved and drug-drenched. It's just that these days the boys are taking their hits from a batch far more pure.