You've Got a Killer Scene There, Queens.

We've heard enough about the turmoil inside Queens of the Stone Age. All I want to talk about here is the music because after breakups, makeups, quittings, firings, whatever, the music is all we're left with. QOTSA's follow-up to their stellar 2002 breakout album Songs For the Deaf furthers the cool, progressive sound that's been making them famous while veering into some different territory as well. Lullabies to Paralyze doesn't quite match its predecessor, but it's still an enjoyable album and a worthy follow-up.

It takes a couple tracks into Lullabies... to get things rolling. The slow, haunting This Lullaby works as a good intro. Medication, however, doesn't do much to get you into the album. It's a fast, almost punk rock song, but it's too slow to feel like much more than a second intro. But once Everybody Knows That You Are Insane kicks in, Lullabies to Paralyze has truly begun. It builds gradually until the first chorus when Josh Homme belts out the title in a distorted, somewhat demented tone. The song then continues in that style, only much faster and more amplified. The album keeps on rolling with Tangled Up In Plaid, a groovy track with a touch of old school swagger, and Burn the Witch, featuring a guest appearance by ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons who adds blues-rock flavor to this otherwise creepy-cool track.

A pair of tracks in the middle provide some of the album's most memorable - and most rocking - moments. In My Head shows the band retaining the classic QOTSA sound while delivering a rock anthem about being left alone with nothing but music to keep you going. The chorus of "I keep on playing our favorite song/ I turn it up when you're gone" contrasts the progressive sound with a line that takes you back to rock's good ol' days. And first single Little Sister might fill your prescription for cowbell, but it's the sweet guitar riff that drives this song and gives it a cool, cocky swagger.

Following Little Sister, however, the album begins to taper. The rest is all good - different yet enjoyable - but it gets a bit too experimental to prove as memorable as the driving rock songs of the first half. I enjoy the creepy, high-pitched drones and vibrant guitar riff of Someone's In the Wolf, but some may find the seven-plus minutes too excessive, especially as it meanders toward the end. Other tracks such as The Blood Is Love and the sloppy Broken Box and Skin On Skin also have a wandering effect that may lose some listeners. But keep in mind, this is nothing new. This is just the Queens of the Stone Age you don't hear on the radio. The second half has good music to drift away to, but don't zone out completely because there is some really excellent material here. One of my favorites is "You Got a Killer Scene There, Man...", a laid-back, finger-snapping, chill-out song.

Some might be pleased that Lullabies... is less thematic than Songs For the Deaf. While I didn't mind the running radio theme (some of the bits were quite funny), I'm glad they chose to stick to a more solid format this time around. No intros or interludes - just fourteen tracks of music. With a mix of fast-and-rocking and long-and-winding, there is something for many rock fans to enjoy.


Also from Queens of the Stone Age:

Songs For the Deaf
Era Vulgaris