Sunday, January 5, 2014

Album of the Week: Lullabies To Paralyze

by: Kitty White

Queens of the Stone Age have quickly become one of my favorite bands within the past year. The individuality of their desert rock genre and Josh Homme’s vocals just draws me in in the most hypnotizing of ways. Every Queens album has it’s own personality and listening to one of their songs you can tell instantly which album it’s from. There’s something new to be discovered about this band with everything they release.
I could never pick a favorite from their discography but one album that I could listen to for weeks on end is definitely Lullabies To Paralyze. The entire thing is completely mesmerizing. Lullabies opens up with Mark Lanegan’s haunting rendition of ‘This Lullaby,’ which sets the mood for the entire album. It’s dark, brooding, and sucks you in like a black hole. Some of the highlights on this album: all the songs. There is never a dull moment. The beginning half starts out heavy with songs like ‘Medication’ and ‘Burn The Witch’ and ironically climaxes at ‘I Never Came’ to come down with a more melodic second act. Although not to put you into too much of a mellow daze the sex anthem ‘Skin On Skin’ is thrown into the mix to wake you up a little. The technical final song (there’s a hidden finale) ‘Long Slow Goodbye’ is what really gets me. Every aspect of the song perfectly revolves around Josh Homme’s flawless falsetto. It’s the perfect cherry on top of this sexy, hard rock sundae. 

I always tell people if they want to start listening to Queens of the Stone Age to start with Songs For The Deaf but if you want to fall irrevocably in love with them, listen to Lullabies to Paralyze. This album showcases everything I love about this band from the drums, to the vocals, to the lyrics, to the blazing riffs that you can never quite get out of your brain. With Lullabies Josh Homme and the gang plant their little desert rock seeds in your head to blossom into a full out infatuation with their music for years to come.

            

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