I wish I hadn’t read that Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age)
produced this album. It’s all I can hear. Every little hook, the guitar
tone, even the nonchalance of the singing. Homme might as well have
moved to Sheffield long enough to adopt the accent and started a new
band. Actually…what has Queens of the Stone Age been up to lately? It
isn’t until past the halfway mark that the voice of the band nearly
breaks free from the production. “Cornerstone” and “Dance Little Liar”
almost return to form, still retaining the Monkeys’ signature quirks,
only lightly dusted with Homme’s studio trickery. Please make less
money and use less bossy producers next time around.
This article appears in Sep 3-9, 2009.