With a few exceptions — like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Blind Faith — the supergroup is a forgettable footnote to rock history.
Them Crooked Vultures — Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) — is the rare supergroup that lives up to the potential and maybe even exceeds it.
The Vultures’ self-titled debut is 13 snarling, swaggering tracks that draw heavily from heavy classic rock like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin as well as Homme’s cocky vocals and churning, sometimes spastic guitar. With Grohl basing the drums with muscular flair and Jones alternating between rock-solid basslines and meandering oddities, the band is old and new at the same time, playing with a sense of reverence for its heroes — one of which happens to be in the trio — and a sense of urgency and exploration.
It’s interesting that of all of the Vultures’ source bands, this group sounds most like QOTSA. However, the music is much broader and more colorful than the material Homme plays with that band; Jones’ intricate bass work and occasional keyboard and piano textures are a big reason for that, as is Grohl’s propellant playing.
The songs take some time to develop, with tricky intros that pay off. An early highlight is “Mind Eraser, No Chaser,” which grows from some stop-start drumming and riffing before it’s off to the races. Grohl’s harmony vocals on the chorus give the tune some melodic appeal. “New Fang” is loose-limbed funk rock which sounds relatively simple to play but must be a bitch to keep together rhythmically. “Elephants,” meanwhile, recalls Living Colour’s “Cult Of Personality” in its extended intro before coming to a near stop, settling into a nasty groove. The Vultures reference Cream through Homme’s high, ethereal vocals and bluesy guitar work in “Scumbag Blues,” but it’s more than a simple homage thanks to some horror-movie melodies and Jones’ dirty keyboard work.
All of the songs, which the band performed live during a club tour before the album’s release, are played with conviction and sound fresh yet well-rehearsed. It feels like a new band that’s excited to be a band, and you can hear it in the Spanish riffs in the chorus of “Bandoliers,” the John Bonham stomp of “Reptiles” or Homme’s leering in “Caligulove.” These birds might have about 100 years of combined experience in the rock business, but it sounds like a band just taking flight, which is a remarkable and rewarding thing for the musicians and listeners alike.
Rating: W W W W
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