Them Crooked Vultures Will F** You Straight Up the A**
Dave Grohl. Josh Homme. John. Paul. Jones.
Allow me to spew mindless superlatives like a hyperactive little kid, but Them Crooked Vultures is probably going to be the most mind-bending, capillary-rupturing tsunami of awesomeness to pound the shores of the modern rock scene this decade. Wait, does that sound over the top? Good.
For those of you who hate living in sunlight, Dave Grohl is the accomplished (and slightly self-inflated, from what I hear) ex-drummer of Nirvana and current Foo Fighters champion, Homme is chief asskicker of Queens of the Stone Age and an all-around brilliant songwriter, and John Paul Jones is John Paul Jones. From Led Zeppelin. (Twitch, twitch. Puke.) Them Crooked Vultures is the supergroup they formed in 2005 (joined by live rhythm guitarist Alain Johannes of QOTSA). Their debut album is due out November 16 in the UK, and November 17 in the US, which probably means there are already pirated versions flying around hither and thither.
This is still OK, though, because the entire album is available right now through the band’s YouTube channel. Of course it’s sweet, from the killer drum opening and chomping guitar riff of “New Fang” to the simple jaw-busting power of “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I.” I suggest you void your bowels to make room for the sheer rock infusion that will ensue, grab the first copy you can get your hands on, and devour that ambrosia like it’s green beer on Saint Patty’s Day.
To make me even more excited, the band has a tour lined up to sweep across much of the Western world, from the release date into early next year. Tour dates are below.
The band’s music is also available through their Myspace page, with other info available on their official site, for your worshiping convenience. Now go forth and rock out a lot.
Update: A December 8 concert at the Palladium in Koln, Germany, was filmed for German music show Rockpalast, and the entire show was posted in streaming form at this site. Check it out for a fun, 97-minute live outing.
Another update: This Peter Coffin parody on “New Fang” throws a TCV-shaped slug at Twilight and New Moon. It’s pretty hilarious.
Tour dates:
11-17 Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
11-19 Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
11-21 Seattle – Paramount
11-22 Portland – Roseland Theater
12-6 Munich – Zenith
12-7 Berlin – Columbiahalle
12-6 Cologne – Palladium
12-10 Plymouth, England – Pavilions
12-11 Portsmouth, England – Guildhall
12-13 Blackpool, England – Empress Ballroom
12-14 Birmingham, England – O2 Academy
12-15 Edinburgh, Scotland – Corn Exchange
12-17 London, England – HMV Hammersmith Apollo
12-18 London, England – HMV Hammersmith Apollo
01-19 Perth – Challenge Stadium
01-22 Melbourne – Festival Hall
01-25 Brisbane – Riverstage
01-26 Sydney – Hodern Pavilion
01-29 Wellington – TSB Bank Arena
01-30 Auckland – Vector Arena
Oh yeah, and you'll want to download my book.
this band sounds like a bland qotsa. pretty boring. really basic rock riffs. its pretty much all names. which you seem to love. but if you like it, good for you.
dude
13 Dec 09 at 1:39 am
It’s actually great riff rock, good for getting in fights and kicking ninjas’ asses in downtown haymakerville. The big names just provide an explanation for its extreme awesomeness.
Peter Kimmich
14 Dec 09 at 10:28 am
I’ve seen ’em on Lowlands 2009. they are not spectacular.
Steak
15 Dec 09 at 6:53 am
I’m with the Dude on this – the album delivers a lot less than the promise of the sum of its constituent parts. Hate to say it, but ‘bland’ and ‘boring’ pretty much covers it. It sounds like the stuff that wasn’t good enough for Era Vulgaris, and that wasn’t that great an album anyway.
4/10 – must try harder, guys.
DesertPunk
15 Dec 09 at 7:54 am
I’m sensing a lot of dissenters here… Maybe I’ll do a review of the entire album when time allows, but until then I can say this — the project as a whole isn’t as “flavorful” as other albums I’ve heard (including some of QOTSA’s), but there are definitely some amazing tracks there. For example:
New Fang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7_vH3H8LPI
No One Loves Me & Neither Do I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M89qz4aWbBo
Scumbag Blues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RwgEe-xrys
Elephants
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbmYcVrcOf8
(better once the fast part ends)
After a few listens, the album starts to show subtleties like time changes, cymbal work, background guitar tracks, etc that I think make it completely worthy of the hype the big names are bringing to it. But that’s just my opinion.
And I still think it and ninja fighting go hand in hand.
Peter Kimmich
15 Dec 09 at 1:57 pm
I’ve just started listening to this record, and amazingly I’ve been out of the loop enough to have not known who was even in the band up until a couple hours before hearing it. Without the generally unrealistic, over zealous hype, you do get a truer interaction with the record. Going into any sort of thing without expectations is usually the best way to get the jist of how it really is, to you anyway.
I found the album to be pretty ok to slightly cool. Some tracks really do stand out, respectively to what’s currently being played on formatted radio, but nothing really lives up to the talents of Grohl, Homme or Jones. After each track, I found myself wanting their to be a bigger dynamic shift. It’s like going 7 over the speed limit on the highway.
In one sense, it is one of the better mainstream rock records to have come out this year, but what’s that really worth anymore? People who love this record aren’t wrong for loving it, they’re just really in need of a balls out, real rock record. Them Crooked Vultures tap on the gas, but they really fail to ever kick it into over drive.
In the other hand, Josh Homme’s got a real knack for pissing as many people off and turning them on. Kyuss followers generally look at QOTSA as lesser, die hard QOSTA fans probably didn’t give the EODM records a chance and so on. There’s also Homme Homies who love everything he does. So, I guess the jury’s still out on that whole shebang.
Most people are just excited that one of Classic Rock’s Icons is active in music again, it’s sort of a cheap shot because he could go on stage and ass it up and still be a legend (ala Jimmy Page the last two decades). Also, anytime Grohl gets behind a drum kit, people really seem to get creamy over nostalgic Nirvana days, a band that most of today’s boppers would have followed for the wrong reasons and woulda been the sorts of folks to drive Cobain to swallow himself in tense, neon fantasy. That’s showbiz though.
The worst part of the record is that it’s over polished, too obvious and plays into it’s self when it should let loose. Would’ve been nice to have a better mix of influences from the collective musical know-how that was available in the studio.
It could be one of those records that grows on you, but at this point, there’s 3 or 4 songs that’ll find their ways onto playlists, but other than that… meh.
I’ll give it 6.5 outta 10, because it’s not complete crap, but it doesn’t live up to what you’d expect (and for good reason) from the line up. I’d be willing to check out a follow up, especially if they got with the right producer.
Kirk
20 Dec 09 at 1:03 am
Very well-thought-out, insightful review, Kirk. Since “meh+” is the general consensus of this album, I’m even more compelled to post a diatribe on why I think (with no brainwashing, naivete or bandwagonism involved) this album is worth a lot more to rock and roll fans than a passing nod. All I need is one uneventful lunch break…
Peter Kimmich
21 Dec 09 at 11:17 am
who are the crooked vultures 0.o
Ive heard quite a bit a rock and have never heard of them
System of a Down FAN!!!!
4 Feb 10 at 7:05 am