Firm stuff from the Californian rockers but a change of direction in production leaves a lot to be desired.
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Following on from their stunning sixth album …Like Clockwork, Californian rockers Queens of the Stone Age return this summer with Villains and with a new producer in Mark Ronson. ‘The Way You Used to Do’ is our first snippet of the record, which is currently set for an August 25th release. So, does the new material continue to match the lofty expectations and standards the band have set themselves? Well…
As per usual, the riffs are pretty damn thick and pretty damn tasty – as one of the last pure rock bands these days, Queens of the Stone Age stick to their guns in this sense. It gives the song a swing style and it’s not hard to imagine this one going down a storm when played live. But there’s something lacking here overall. The drums are a tad boring, especially when compared to the top moments of …Like Clockwork and the dynamic machine-like playing of the band’s studio player, a certain Dave Grohl, and the production doesn’t do them much good. Whilst the rest of the guitars are solid, Ronson’s influence is evident and it unfortunately strips them of a certain rawness and bite. It’s a far cry from Josh Homme‘s rough and dirty days back in desert rockers Kyuss.
By no means is ‘The Way You Used to Do’ a bad song, it’s just severely underwhelming from a band that has set themselves such a high bar to try and match. Hindered by some bad production, ‘The Way You Used to Do’ is just not that great.
‘The Way You Used to Do’ is out now via Matador
