Them Crooked Vultures

This is the new project featuring Dave Grohl, Josh Homme and John Paul Jones, who individually have had involvement at some point in arguably some of the most influential (commercially or otherwise), if not most popular bands of the last 40 years. With this much talent present, it could be easily assumed that the "too many cooks spoil the broth" saying would apply. Thank the gods through this is actually one of the better records released in 2009, as it comes to an end, and, as one would expect, it covers epic shoegaze and sour blues to lo-fi rock and everywhere in between.

The album is complimented by splatterings of slide guitar and lap steel such as on New Fang and Stevie Wonder-type synth and organ on Scumbag Blues, a song worth listening to purely for the drum sound Songs For the Deaf nostalgia. This album works on a number of elvels in being some of the desert sessions B-sides that never made the cut, but for the most part it's a bunch of raging tunes that travel a number of different places. Off the charts heavy moments can also be found; such is the case with No One Loves Me And Neither Do I - you'll want to be sitting down from 2:43 onwards - while Elephants starts in one place and ends in another with many of these tracks on first listen not finishing how one might expedct them to. What really makes this album work though is that it sounds as if you're right in the studio with them and one can almost visualise what it would have been like making a record as unique and satisfying as these crooked vultures have.

8.5/10