Queens of the Stone Age – Lullabies to Paralyze

Interscope

2005

On March 21st 2005, Queens of the Stone age released their forth studio album to mostly favorable reviews. After the runaway commercial success of 2002’s Songs for the Deaf and extensive touring in support of that record, and following the departure of Bassist Nick Oliveri in 2004 whilst on tour in Australia and with on/off band member Mark Lanagan seemingly concentrating on his own solo career it can be said that QotSA were in something of a state of flux. Nevertheless, front-man Josh Homme had plenty of material written ready to be hammered out and swiftly recruited present guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and drummer Joey Castillo to round out the band with contributions, from among others, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Brody Dale, Josh Freese and Hollywood Jack himself, Mr. Jack Black. Recording took place throughout much of the summer of 2004 at Sound City studios in Van Nuys California with the record produced by Joe Barresi of Weezer fame and co produced by Homme himself. Said Homme at the time of the records release and addressing the relative upheaval in the band in a 2005 interview with Rolling Stone magazine; “[I feel] like an underdog again… Every time you make a record, you’re trying to prove something a little. You can always put it out but you can never take it back. I’d hate to suck”.

Lullabies to Paralyze kicks things off with “This Lullaby” beginning with pensive guitar and the trademark baritone vocals of Mark Lanegan; a pretty brief introduction into the new record which really kicks off proper with the schizophrenic “Medication” beginning with fuzzy guitars and driving drums and essentially picking up musically were Songs for the Deaf left off. Next up is ” Everybody Knows That You Are Insane” beginning with agonized guitar and suitably eerie atmospherics leading into a driving chorus section which transitions into an idiosyncratic verse section. The track was written to be played live and it is a satisfying stomper of a tune. “Tangled Up In Plaid” follows beginning with ominous keys and spare snare drum before transitioning into jaunty guitar and swelling bass throughout. The track is fairly different brooding track for Queens (a theme that runs throughout this record) and it is an interesting sounding song that doesn’t outstay its welcome.

“Burn the Witch” is next up beginning with a dark incantation before a transition into a down and dirty rockabilly guitar riff courtesy of the great Billy Gibbons who also shares vocals with Homme, with the track’s bridge suitably spacey. “Burn the Witch” is a fun track if not entirely essential listening and interestingly was the albums third and final single, nearly a year after the records release. “In My Head”, the records second single ( interestingly co written by Josh Freese) and arguably the most commercial sounding single from the band follows. The track had a past life; a version of the song appears on a record called Volume Ten: I Heart Disco from a musician collective of sorts that Homme contributed to called the Desert Sessions in 2003, however most hardcore and causal fans are most likely to remember this track from the game Need For Speed Underground 2. Petrol head or no, the track proved to be immensely popular and even was accompanied by a pretty dire music video. The track begins with a repeating riff before transitioning into a beautifully paranoid main riff with a strong catchy memorable chorus complete with suitably maudlin lyrics; ” I keep on playing our favorite song, turn it up when your gone”.

The charming “Little Sister” follows, the lead single from the album released a full four months before the record dropped. Beginning with a clarion call of jam-block (not cowbell folks) and an angular guitar riff, “Little Sister” is a damn catchy tune, even today with a strong chorus and tight turn on a dime verse sections showcasing the chops of the excellent Joey Castillo. The track is a firm fans favorite and is still played live today. Next we have “I Never Came” beginning with rim shots and a double tom pattern accompanying a ripply guitar riff with excellent mournful vocals from Homme before leading into a maudlin chorus section with great guitar work from Van Leeuwen with a devastating bridge section which sees out the tracks soaring wistful conclusion. “I Never Came” is the records best track in this reviewers eyes and a criminally underrated tune.

“Someones In The Wolf” is next beginning with disjointed guitars and drums leading into Homme’s banshee like wailing vocals throughout before at the 5′ mark the track slows into an eerie sounding desolate dirge with a demented ending section. The track feels more like an extended jam rather than a wholly cohesive track but perhaps that was the whole point and it the weakest track on Lullabies To Paralyze so far. “The Blood Is Love” is next and initially continues the vibe of its predecessor before turning on a time with a grungy sounding riff and wailing guitars. The track is a fairly straight ahead rock tune, neither bad nor particularly remarkable and ticks along nicely if so what inoffensively. Next up is “Skin On Skin” beginning with a droney guitar riff which pulsates along to great effect, but the track is utterly redundant and doesn’t really offer the listener anything particularly new to what has come before; at this point in the record things are starting to sound a bit samey.

Thankfully “Broken Box” is more sonically interesting and a tried and true Queens track which brings back a bit of the fun factor again with sinewy bass, driving percussion and demented keys and hey, it’s got Jack Black clapping hands on it too. “You’ve Got A Killer Scene There Man” is next up with wistful mournful guitars and the backing vocals of Mark Lanegan once again along with help from Misses Dale and Manson. The track plays out as a kind of washed out semi blues tune and is all the better for it all cigarettes and whisky glasses. Lullabies To Paralyze ends with “Long Slow Goodbye” beginning with a strummed country esque riff before leading into a jaunty verse section with crying guitars and lamentable vocals from Homme and features a hidden outro section courtesy of The Main Street Horns. The track is a decent way to end an album which has had a certain commercial vibe to it yet surprisingly experimental in parts too.

In a lot of ways, Lullabies To Paralyze had an impossible task to follow-up a cult fan favorite like Songs For The Deaf which happens for so many artists and in all truth it mostly fails to live up to that standard. However, the record has a certain charm which is hard to ignore and features some of the best songs the band has written in their career. It is obvious that the band upheavals had some effect on some of the material to a greater or lesser degree and the second half of the record is pretty weak compared to the first half as a result; not that the buying public seemed to mind too much as the record still charted well and went gold in Australia, Canada and the UK. If you somehow missed out on Lullabies To Paralyze back in the day, are a new fan, or you just haven’t given this record a spin in a while do check it out; the album has dated very well and most of the material still sounds fresh today. It’s not Queens best work but it is still an interesting record to listen and jam to. Now where’s my Jamblock…

Works Cited:

Appleford, Steve., (Jan 2005) QOTSA Sing Lullabies – Josh Homme Puts Finishing Torches On New Record, Rolling Stone.