Terror attack that inspired Homme’s homage to life . . .
THe union of leatherclad rocker Josh Homme and dance bigwig Mark Ronson is, on paper, a surprising one.
As frontman of Queens of The Stone Age, Homme built his reputation on heavy guitar anthems. Producer Ronson is best known for sunny, retrosoul stylings.
But the unlikely duo are two of the most well- connected men in music — Homme is a friend of elton John, Dave grohl and Arctic Monkeys and Ronson the go-to guy for Bruno Mars and Lady gaga. It was perhaps inevitable that their paths would eventually cross. Homme, too, is a more discerning character than his piratical image suggests. The 44-year-old called his band Queens of The Stone Age because he thought Kings sounded too macho for its all-male line-up. ‘Rock should be heavy enough for the boys and sweet enough for the girls,’ he says. ‘That way, everyone’s happy and it’s more of a party.’ The Ronson- produced Villains, out today, is certainly upbeat. The California quintet’s seventh album, it’s also their most dance-oriented.
As one would expect with Ronson in the room, there are drum loops, handclaps and spring-heeled beats a-plenty. But, with crunchy guitars also prominent, Villains is still a rock ’n’ roll record.
The new twists are evident from the off. The playful thump of Feet Don’t Fail Me harks back to Led Zeppelin’s Trampled Under Foot in its fusion of rock and funk, and The Way You Used To Do, an energetic pop shuffle, is a typically busy Ronson production.
HOMME approached the Anglo-American after his young son became a fan of Ronson’s Uptown Funk, and there are traces of that single’s rhythmic thrust here.
elsewhere, full-tilt rockers dominate, with the chilling synths of keyboardist Dean Fertita adding nuance to the guitars of Homme and Troy Van Leeuwen.
Head Like A Haunted House is as pogo- worthy as any Seventies punk 45. Un-Reborn Again looks back further. Its lyrics, featuring characters such as Skinny-Nosed Jack, come straight out of the Marc Bolan songbook, and its overall sound nods towards the music made in Berlin by David Bowie and Iggy Pop.
Homme produced Iggy’s last album Post Pop Depression and toured with the singer, so those similarities are hardly a surprise.
The immediacy driving Villains is rooted partly in tragedy. one of Homme’s other groups, eagles of Death Metal, were onstage when terrorists attacked the Bataclan theatre in Paris two years ago.
AS AN occasional member, he wasn’t there, but the horror had a profound impact, encouraging him to live life to the full — he sings of ‘going on a living spree’ — while placing greater value on friends and family.
Homme uses several songs to pay tribute to his wife, Brody Dalle, an Australian singer, and their three children, but there is nothing saccharine about either Fortress or Villains of Circumstance, the latter a number about missing loved ones that finds Homme loosening his traditional growl and singing in a mellower, jazzy croon.
‘If your sound doesn’t evolve, you become a parody,’ he says. The advice is heeded in style on a record that redefines his music while staying true to his rocking roots.
LeAVINg his native Nottingham for the laid-back surroundings of Nashville, Jake Bugg cuts a less abrasive figure than before on his fourth album, out next week.
Working with a troupe of crack Tennessee session men, the singer- songwriter strives for a period feel on soul- searching ballads and tender country-pop numbers. Bugg, 23, teams up with producer Dan Auerbach (of the Black Keys) on How Soon The Dawn and In The event of My Demise, two songs that echo the soft, southern influences of Auerbach’s recent Waiting on A Song album.
Noah Cyrus, younger sister of Miley, is a forceful duet partner on Waiting.
With its title track establishing a melancholy mood that never quite lifts, Hearts That Strain is more consistent than last year’s on My one, which experimented with rap and rock.
But the waspish edge that saw teenage Bugg top the charts with his first album five years ago is missed.