Attention folks, the new Queens of The Stone Age has landed!
We finally got to listen to In Times New Roman. QOTSA delivers here one of its most vulnerable work, nourished by difficult times: a painful divorce, a pandemic, a cancer diagnosis, and the death of many beloved friends.
A dive into darkness
Josh Homme said in a recent interview: “We’re going to make something that sounds as brutal as it feels to be alive right now”. Brutal might not be the first word that comes to mind when listening to this opus, at least when you focus on the melodies and Homme’s delicious crooning. The lyrics, on the other hand, are some of the gloomiest you’ll ever hear.
In Times New Roman is an intimate and consistent album, with excellent songs, but no real bangers in sight. Still, you can tell this baby is a grower: we’ve been already playing on repeat songs like Obscenery, Paper Machete, Carnavoyeur, Sicily, Straight Jacket Fitting, or Emotion Sickness.
Why you should discover In Times New Roman
A lot of QOTSA fans were a bit disappointed with this new opus (lots of them also didn’t like Villains either. Personally, we love it so much we turned it into a cake). Still, the reviews were pretty favorable :
- « As a QOTSA album, In Times New Roman… is dark and disorientating; for Joshua Homme, it feels like a wholly necessary outpouring of creative catharsis. » (Kerrang).
- « Here, QOTSA play it pretty safe. That might have been a necessary step to help Homme feel sheltered enough to show off his still-fresh wounds, but, on the whole it keeps the evolution of the band from reaching that next crucial step forward. »(Consequence).
- « ‘In Times New Roman’ is unlikely to win over those perched on the fence, though all-encompassing adoration perhaps doesn’t fit a period that has left so many deep scars. They’ve pitched their comeback between an emotional exorcism for Homme, but with enough fan-service for the die-hards; this is up there with their darkest, knottiest material to date, and will be appreciated all the more for it. » (NME).
Now tell us: did you get to listen to In Times New Roman? What’s your opinion on this new album?
