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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Era Vulgaris
by Queens Of The Stone Age
Josh Homme's fifth QOTSA disc includes guest appearances by The Strokes' Julian Casablancas and returnee Mark Lanegan. Oddly, however, the disc does not include its title track collaboration with Trent Reznor, which was released separately.
| LABEL: |
Interscope |
| RELEASE DATE: |
12 June 2007 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Alternative, Rock |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Uncut
They continue to find some clever ways to do a pretty dumb thing. [Jul 2007, p.112]
90
All Music Guide
It's exhilarating, the best rock & roll record yet released in 2007.
90
Spin
It sounds awesome. [Jul 2007, p.102]
86
Filter
It's still rebellion without destination. [#25, p.89]
85
Prefix Magazine
You can hear the band rediscovering its footing as one of the strangest, funniest, and best acts of the decade.
83
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Era sounds like an effort to pull away from commercial radio and actually cultivate a smaller, indie-er fan base.
81
cokemachineglow
Josh Homme wants Era Vulgaris to be your summer bonfire record. And with a restored aura of cockiness and predictably massive arsenal of riffage, he’s once again fulfilled his goal.
80
NOW Magazine
Though QOTSA always seem to be on bland-rock stations, this is as different from the mainstream as you can imagine, and not in a bad way.
80
New Musical Express
Spiky and cool where 'Songs For The Deaf' was smooth and tanned, tense and alien where that record was baked and ready to party, 'Era Vulgaris' is a record that feels like rust and stings like battery acid.
80
PopMatters
Slick, sly, hard-hitting, and intelligent, Era Vulgaris is the rare big record with staying power.
80
The New York Times
On this album he decisively shakes off the enervation and jokey detachment that made the Queens’ last few albums sound like in-jokes. This time Mr. Homme hones his songs.
80
Alternative Press
Homme's modern macabre lyricism and experimental, melodic prowess... make this a more complete album that Lullabies. [Jul 2007, p.176]
80
Drowned In Sound
The Queens’ music has always been a kind of battleground for the proverbial devil and angel on Homme’s shoulders – with the devil winning, of course – and that continues to be the case here, with Homme’s bewitching falsetto croon acting as the spirit to the band’s tattooed, hairy flesh, and bruising, cactus-dry workouts giving way to lush, psychedelic oases of darkly reflective sound.
80
Hot Press
If Lullabies To Paralyze was a strange forest fairytale dusted with desert blues courtesy of Billy Gibbons, Era Vulgaris finds the band holed up in an abandoned funkhouse in the centre of a shady copse, waiting for some strange sexually-contracted fever to pass.
80
Observer Music Monthly
Homme's ever-catchy formula remains, but the mood is uneasy and brooding, with tracks such as 'Sick, Sick, Sick' revealing a venomous new band that's finally learned to separate business and pleasure.
80
Rolling Stone
Era Vulgaris is Homme's fifth Queens album, and like the others, it's intricately crafted, meticulously polished and ruthlessly efficient in its pursuit of depraved rock thrills.
75
Los Angeles Times
"Era Vulgaris" ain't vulgar at all — in fact it's musicianly as heck.
74
Lost At Sea
So when Era Vulgaris comes as a bit of a disappointment, well, that's all relative, since it still rocks mightily.
70
Dot Music
Not content with making a diverse, punchy record brimming with those trademark riffs, Homme has written lyrics that make you think.
70
Hartford Courant
"Era Vulgaris" is dense and loud, and though there are hooks beneath the grimy surface, they're not always immediately apparent. Yet with enough patience, you'll find these tunes burrowing in a little deeper each time through the record.
70
musicOMH.com
The Queens treading water is still better than watching so many others horribly drowning.
70
Delusions of Adequacy
While Era Vulgaris is not cohesive in tone (Could it be a reflection of today’s fragmented, compartmentalized world that pulls in all directions?) and doesn’t fire consistently on all cylinders, the album is still chock-a-block with complex instrumental arrangements, stop-and- start rhythms, gracefully refined harmonies, cranked-up choruses, and pointed commentary on the modern world.
70
Billboard
QOTSA envelops many of the songs in a fog of menacing guitar squall that focuses as much on atmospherics as hooks. [16 Jun 2007]
70
Boston Globe
Somehow, it all works together, from the psychedelic guitar warble to the bits of prog to the almost country-style harmonies.
67
Stylus Magazine
Era Vulgaris gets better with each listen, and that’s mostly due to the fact that the melodies take time to sink in.
67
Austin Chronicle
This time around things are more industrial and complex but every bit as sleazy and intoxicating.
62
Pitchfork
It's not so much that the songs themselves are weak, just that many of the choices made in them are.
60
Playlouder
In isolation you can imagine any of these songs may have appeared over the last 10 years giving a warm comforting feel, but listened in its entirety the effect is strangely soporific, a steady morphine drip running from start to end.
58
Entertainment Weekly
All the beefy guitar playing in the world can't change the reality that there isn't a single song here that you'll remember, or what to return to, two summers hence. [15 Jun 2007, p.78]
50
Under The Radar
At best, the songs give you a brief QOTSA kick, and at worst, the album sounds like warmed up Eagles. [Summer 2007, p.84]
50
Blender
A downer. [Jul 2007, p.116]
40
The Guardian
There has always been a slightly tricksy, proggy side to Queens of the Stone Age, but here the more episodic songs such as Run Pig Run lurch distractingly rather than flow. The result is more of a trudge than Queens of the Stone Age albums are supposed to be, not helped by the fact that Homme seems to have mislaid his lyrical wit.
30
Village Voice
With the band sounding listless and drained of ideas, it starts trying anything.
The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 102 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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