Them Crooked Vultures

Them Crooked Vultures

[3/5]



Them Crooked Vultures put the “super” in “supergroup.” Besides head Foo Fighter Dave Grohl behind the drum kit and Queens Of The Stone Age’s Josh Homme on vocals and guitar, the trio are completed by multi-instrumentalist John Paul Jones–who’s best known as the bassist, keyboardist and mandolin player for a little band called Led Zeppelin.



Judging by pedigree alone, then, Them Crooked Vultures’ self-titled debut should be the best rock record of 2009. And in many respects, the disc lives up to expectations: Take Zeppelin’s mesmerizing psychedelic moments, snake-charmer riffs and distorted blues flourishes, filter ‘em through QOTSA-style sleaze-boogie and add Grohl’s steady, varied backbeat.



The result? “Elephants,” which veers between classic-rock strutting and Motörhead-like speed; the hefty, stoner-glam swing “Dead End Friends”; and “Reptiles,” a tune featuring nyah-nyah needling riffs and Homme’s expressive, devilish vocal turn. Better still is “Caligulove”–a bluesy, organ-burnished swagger worthy of the Stones–and the catchy single “Mind Eraser, No Chaser.” On the latter, Grohl’s fadeaway screams balance out Homme’s bulldog vocals, as plenty of dirty, distorted guitar licks devolve into (inexplicably) a brass band playing the song out.



However, the album never quite reaches rock nirvana. Inflated expectations aside, its biggest problem is that it comes across as a long, sprawling jam session that needs editing. The slow-boiling “Warsaw Or The First Breath You Take After You Give Up” sounds like ZZ Top in slow motion (read: impossibly boring), while the sludgy, repeating riff on “Bandoliers” drags the song down and renders it formless. And then there’s “Interlude With Ludes,” an eerie, dank brood that recalls David Bowie’s drug-fueled ‘70s weirdness–and sticks out like a sore thumb among the rock-centric atmosphere.



Granted, there’s no possible way that Them Crooked Vultures could have lived up to the hype preceding its release. But in the end, it’s very much a first record from a band who are still figuring out their chemistry. (DGC/INTERSCOPE) Annie Zaleski



GO DOWNLOAD: “Mind Eraser, No Chaser”