Queens Of The Stone Age: Joshua Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Joey Castillo.

This is Queens of the Stone Age's fourth full-length and second without founder Nick Oliveri. Perhaps the most ambitious and intricately made album thus far in the QOTSA catalog, ERA VULGARIS makes clear that this is Josh Homme's band through and through. The album still contains the band's trademark rock muscle and fierce riffage, as "Sick Sick Sick" and "Misfit Love" prove. But there's also a charming synthetic sexiness to tracks such as "Battery Acid" and "I'm A Designer" that Homme clearly revels in, and that one can't help thinking was slightly stifled by the more rockist Oliveri. And while there's still plenty of QOTSA's sun-baked acid vibe throughout, it comes via the white noise and ultra-violet burn of 21st-century Los Angeles. This is decadent cyber-punk choogle ready-made for a pre-Apocalypse party at the QOTSA manor. Mark Lanegan and Julian Casablancas guest on vocals.

Rolling Stone (p.97) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "'Into the Hollow' is a surprisingly tender purple-haze ballad, with Homme's vibrato amid a gently quivering wah-wah."

Spin (p.102) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "The vocals are simultaneously sweet and dangerous, and every guitar riff sounds like 'Sweet Home Alabama.' Which is to say that it sounds awesome."

Uncut (p.112) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "Queens Of The Stone Age are a group whose superb music is the product of enquiring, if hedonistic minds..."

Alternative Press (p.176) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] gritty, lo-fi grind from a studio-sized universe....Homme's modern macabre lyricism and experimental, melodic prowess make this a more complete album than LULLABIES..."

Kerrang (Magazine) (p.68) - Ranked #4 in Kerrang's "The Top 20 Albums Of 2007" -- "[T]his is a work of offbeat rock 'n' roll genius..."