SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE – PERFECTH

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE
PERFECTH
MATADOR RECORDS

As it turns out, racking up near death experiences is certain to alter your perspective. Josh Homme is no stranger to this. His most recent brush with death came in the wake of Queens Of The Stone Age’s rapturous 2024 set within the Paris Catacombs, a performance that saw Homme wrestle with his mortality following a very recent diagnosis, while surrounded by the remains of millions who passed before. Following the release of Alive In The Catacombs, the film and album, the band toured with a string and brass section while scouring for their next direction. The result is Perfecth, the ninth album from the band and their first studio record since 2023’s In Times New Roman…. Perfecth sees the band re-emerge unlike ever before, shedding their stoner desert rock aesthetic for something darker, lonelier, and incredibly introspective.

As the band ushers Homme into the verse of “It’s Only Love,” disrupting the initial sounds of a passing train and a lo-fi guitar, there is an ominous air. The brooding song is driven by a haunting vocal melody and is accented by percussive keys that only add a hollow feeling to the track. Homme’s soft wails accent the slow burning number, echoing a pain that resides deep within his soul, before the song ends without warning as the narrator is seemingly struck by aforementioned train. The album continues with the single, “Insignificant Other,” a song that’s a touch more upbeat, despite Homme lamenting the end of a relationship. As the band locks in on a groove centred around weaving guitars, “Insignificant Other” feels like an unearthed Stones track, like a darker, misfit foil to “Miss You.” In this context, “It’s Only Love” stands as an emotional prelude, whereas “Insignificant Other” serves as a musical cue, demonstrating that Perfecth marks an intentional departure from audience expectations.

Queens of The Stone Age sound perhaps most themselves on the following track and recent single, “Where The Goth Girls At?” Despite this, the band still feels experimental in their approach as there is something akin to German synth pop through a verse that feels cold, rigid, and distant, before opening up into a massive chorus where Homme’s vocals absolutely soar above a fray of swirling guitars and synths as the song builds towards an explosive conclusion. Similarly, “Sunday,” a track repurposed from Post Pop Depression, Homme’s brilliant 2016 collaborative album with Iggy Pop. The song, faithful to the original, sees the band dancing round a rhythmic guitar line. Where this is among the few moments on the album built around a riff, the tone rips through the soundscape, standing apart from everything else on Perfecth. Pair this with a vocal timbre reminiscent of a listless Bowie and “Sunday” finds a second life as a new highlight among the Queens catalogue.

Perfecth is an emotionally nuanced record. Moments of joy, while often fleeting, shine alongside devasting reflections. Overall, the mood is melancholic with Homme giving some of the most emotional deliveries in his career. “Mono” stands as an excellent example of this. The track feels like a whisper from a ghost that unexpectedly lingers in your ear as the band sits on a loose and jangly arrangement, supported by chilling harmonies and abrupt screams. Like an apparition, the song has a disorienting effect as the sound switches from mono to stereo in the middle. On the flip side, “Easy Street” comes from a similar place of longing and apathy, however Homme has found peace amid this feeling through lyrical acceptance, a catchy melody, and a devil may care grin; “Easy Street” will pull you out of your burnout.

Is Perfecth the greatest Queens Of The Stone Age record? Not at all. Was it ever intended to be? Absolutely not. On their latest outing, Homme and company have sought reinvention through seeking and embracing their imperfections. In this pursuit, Perfecth feels exceptionally authentic in a world where the line between fact and fiction – real and slop – is becoming increasingly blurred beyond recognition. True to form, Queens Of The Stone Age continue to carve their own path in new and thrilling directions. By continuing to take risks this late in their career, their inescapable air of mystique and danger remains increasingly present, even when engaging deeper with their balladry. On Perfecth, Queens Of The Stone Age sound revitalized yet distinct across a series of strikingly startling, emotionally arresting, and entirely compelling songs.

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