Recently, Dave Grohl, who the Queens of the Stone Age enlisted as the drummer for their latest album Songs For the Deaf, told Rolling Stone that this was favorite project that he's worked on. No, he hasn't forgotten about that little band called Nirvana. He just likes that he was able to stretch his arms out the most for this album.

Grohl's drumsticks aren't the only things stretched out on Songs For the Deaf. QOTSA have stretched the modern notion of what makes good rock and roll with their creative, all-over-the-place sounds. Now, I admit, I enjoy many of today's "generic" rock acts, but seeing an album like Songs For the Deaf gain so much popularity is a breathe of fresh air that renews my faith in the average rock fan to appreciate something not so cookie-cutter.

The band jokingly makes clear how different they are by stringing together some songs with short skits featuring disc jockeys. One of my favorites is KLON, "Clone Radio: We play that songs that sound like everyone else more than anyone else." These jabs at unoriginal bands and stations are funny and not at all skip-worthy.

As for the music, QOTSA deliver excellent mixes of melody and aggression with a full range of tempos. The album's first single No One Knows is an effective introduction. It has a catchy chorus and a beat that's clever yet so obvious that it must have many musicians thinking, "Why didn't I think of that first." No One Knows is about as poppy as the album gets, which still isn't that much.

That's not to say these tunes aren't catchy. Many of these tracks have been getting stuck in my head quite a bit lately. God Is In the Radio is a crunchy, laid-back tune that's just so damn cool. Another Love Song is loads of fun - definitely worth a listen. Go With the Flow is very upbeat and catchy and reminds me of some of the better tracks on the excellent new Foo Fighters album.

The one getting stuck most often has been First It Giveth with its soft drone of a chorus: "First it giveth then it taketh awaaaaay." Those droning vocals work well on a few other songs on this album such as the STP-ish The Sky Is Fallin' Josh Homme has a really cool and versatile voice that can be soft droning, hard-hitting singing, or loud screaming. His unique vocals help make this band what it is.

He shows off that versatility even more when the Queens delve into near-metal areas on such tracks as Six Shooter and You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire, which you might recognize from the XXX soundtrack, mainly by its intense guitar riff. Plenty of other clever, fuzzy riffs power the songs on this album, as does the amazing drumming of Mr. Grohl. And in addition to Grohl, there are also contributions from many other artists including Dean Ween and Paz Lanchantin.

The "hidden track" Mosquito Song ends the album with something completely different: a dark, acoustic song with twisted lyrics about mosquitoes sucking your blood ("Swallow and chew/ Eat you alive/ All of us food/ That hasn’t died"). This track is very cool and a great way to end this great album.

Songs For the Deaf is a consistently inventive, intelligent, and fun album. The Queens of the Stone Age stay true to form throughout while still making every song stand out on its own. Every single track, though, whether heavy, soft, or anywhere in between, is simply a solid rocker that could hopefully set a new standard in modern rock.


Also from Queens of the Stone Age:

Lullabies to Paralyze
Era Vulgaris


Recommended: Yes