Villains

Released last month, Queens of the Stone Age’s seventh album shows that sometimes, the way forward is back. Whereas the past few releases featured high-profile guest contributors – Mark Lanegan, Billy Gibbons, and Dave Grohl come to mind – Villains features the band alone.

And yet this is not exactly a throwback album. Rather than trying to recapture the stoner rock sound of its self-titled debut, the band has expanded its repertoire, taking on multiple genres at once. The opening track “Feet Don’t Fail Me” features a funky bass line while “Villains of Circumstance” is hauntingly melancholic at times (and reminiscent of Songs for the Deaf’s “Mosquito Song,” a personal favorite). Other cuts dabble in electronica-tinged dance rock (“Un-Reborn Again”), uptempto hard rock (“The Way You Used to Do”) and more.

It’s tempting to lay credit for this diversification at the feet of producer Mark Ronson, best known for his work with Adele and Bruno Mars. And yet while the production here is sharp, it doesn’t feel intrusive. Vocalist/guitarist Josh Homme still sounds very much himself, not a manqué of a better-known name, and the album’s theme – the plight of the dastardly – is definitely the kind of vaguely sinister oddity that Queens of the Stone Age would embrace.

Though longtime fans may balk at the band’s branching out, but Villains is among Queens of the Stone Age’s most enjoyable releases in years. Varied, polished, and darkly entertaining, it commands a listen or five.

8.5/10