Queens of the Stone Age releases its ninth album, Perfecth
Queens of the Stone Age’s Perfecth is out through Matador Records, with nine songs led by singer and guitarist Josh Homme. Louder Than War critic MK Bennett hears a more relaxed, partly acoustic direction. His assessment follows the band’s players through arrangements that move between guitar, bass, keyboards and drums across the new studio album.
Arts··Morning
A new studio album from the band
US rock band Queens of the Stone Age has released Perfecth, its ninth studio album, through Matador Records. The October 30 release contains nine songs. Singer and guitarist Josh Homme leads the group, which also includes guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen, bassist Michael Shuman, keyboard player Dean Fertita and drummer Jon Theodore.[1], [2]
In Louder Than War, critic MK Bennett hears a looser direction, with acoustic passages taking a larger role than listeners expecting the group’s heavier sound might anticipate. His review gives the album a positive overall assessment. He concentrates on Homme’s singing and the arrangements, tracing the different emotional moods he hears across the new songs.[1]
Bennett follows the rhythm section
Bennett singles out the bass-led arrangement of Where The Goth Girls At? and hears a slower atmosphere in Mono. In Sunday, he pays attention to the rhythm section’s contribution. His description of Mono follows its organ, keyboard textures and restrained drums, with the guitars adding a different layer when the chorus arrives.[1]
For Sunday, Bennett describes an opening played by Shuman and Theodore before Homme’s singing enters, followed by an instrumental break. The critic calls Phantom Limb a mid-tempo piece and draws a comparison with Neil Young’s approach. He focuses on the acoustic arrangement there, describing the song as one that rewards a later return after the first listen.[1]
Acoustic arrangements and the closing song
From The Cliff draws Bennett’s attention for its acoustic arrangement supported by strings. He also describes the acoustic guitar accompaniment and vocal harmonies in Easy Street. His account of Easy Street follows the interaction of the rhythm section and the singing, ending with layered voices. These are the critic’s assessments of the arrangements on the new album.[1]
Perfecth begins with It’s Only Love and ends with Run Away From the Mob. Bennett describes the closing song’s backing vocals and guitars as building toward its final passage. He hears that conclusion as an emotional release, with a brief return of heaviness before the album ends. Photographs accompanying the Louder Than War coverage are credited to Andreas Neumann.[1]
