If you are new to Queens of the Stone Age (and good for you, if you are!) and have listened to music your entire life, you might hear a lot of influences that are not recent. It's almost like Josh Homme and company started with liking sounds from the 1960s, carried through until the early 1980s, and skipped everything else until 1996 when their first album was released.
And while there is some excellent music between 1984 and 1996, it's best for you, new QOTSA listener, if you only were influenced by the music that the Queens were influenced by if you want to truly appreciate their music.
Everything that you've grown accustomed to on a QOTSA record if you are a long-term fan, is present on In Times New Roman...There is frontman Josh Homme's 1970s David Bowie-esque vocals, crisp production where each instrument can be heard in its intent, and there is normally some type of glam stomp happening from the drums. It's a unique sound simply because no one else seems to record their music the way Queens of the Stone Age does.
Queens of the Stone Age's new album is one for the old-school fans
Make no mistake that if you want to get off your couch and shake your booty to some music, this is the QOTSA album for you. It's still very much a rock record, but there is a definitive groove. Except for the final song, "Straight Jacket Fitting, which is an unusual song for the band. It's a 9-minute opus that seems to be three songs in one and has seconds of greatness mixed with minutes of something more experimental that doesn't seem to resolve.
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The best songs are "Emotion Sickness" (the first single off the album) and the straightforward rocker "Paper Machete." There are no bad songs on the album as there are very few bad songs in the QOTSA discography. But while the album is strong overall, it may not be for everyone simply because some people get turned off by near-perfect production and guitar-driven rock that just isn't quite heavy enough.
Rating: 7 out of 10