- Record Label: DGC/Interscope
- Release Date: Nov 17, 2009
- Critic score
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- By date
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While there are melodies and hooks that certainly dig into the skull, what impresses is chemistry, how the three play together, how they instigate each other, and how they spur each other on, to the point where their familiar tropes sound fresh.
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This rock supergroup delivers by drawing upon each member's talents and creating a sound that's refreshingly singular and remarkably fun.
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The band’s self-titled debut at times leans too heavily on familiar riff ’n’ roll, but for the most part it’s a groovy cross-generational jam.
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Nasty riffs and sticky melodies are everywhere, buttered over by the androgynous harmonies that have made Homme a hard-rock anti-hero, but verse-chorus arrangements hold little interest. Instead, there are fascinating digressions, packed with surprises.
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Them Crooked Vultures is a wonderful introduction to this all-star band.
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Actually, closer to the truth is that it sounds like a QOTSA record with the kind of solid rhythm-section money couldn't buy. And if that's the case then this is the best QOTSA record since 2002's "Songs For The Deaf".
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It’s an oddball groove-rock album, played very well, imprinted with Homme's undeniably interesting personality. Yet when all’s said and done, it's not particularly memorable and entirely lacks the type of yee-haw exuberance that might have made it a sloppy treat.
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Entertainment WeeklyThe ghost of Led Zep hangs heavy over this debut collaboration. Though that's mostly "heavy" as in "heartily rocking." Homme's decidedly un-Plant-like vocal tones ensure matters never get too close to the mothership. [20 Nov 2009, p.85]
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Although the loud tracks are the most immediate, the subtleties of later numbers like "Reptiles" prove nearly as rewarding,; don't even think of stopping play before "Gunman" shows what these pros do with a dance number.
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MojoUltimately, such details of momentum and mood are testimony to how Them Crooked Vultures flouts the supergroup manual. It doesn't sound like the work of rich men on holiday, but rather three serious individuals looking to prove themselves over again. [Jan 2010, p. 88]
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Considering the album starts so strongly, Them Crooked Vultures could have delivered a classic, finely toned EP; but, as it is, it's a little flabby.
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Them Crooked Vultures sounds best when they don’t toy with that formula; the experimentation gets messy.
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Them Crooked Vultures still feels like a record to be checked off a list rather than one to live with and fully invest in.
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This stomping, panting, sweaty monster is a great listen.
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Them Crooked Vultures sounds more like an awkward attempt to introduce classic hard-rock rhythmic synergy into a Queens of the Stone age album, an effort that proves remarkably disappointing.
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Q MagazineFor both Grohl and Homme, Them Crooked Vultures isn't a supergroup pitched at the world's stadia, but rather a pressure release valve from their highly successful day jobs, an opportunity to kick out the jams - this is very much an album based around heads-down, brain-disengaged, rock 'n' roll boogie jamming - and revisit the classic hard rock sounds they were reared upon. [Jan 2010, p. 114]
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Homme and Grohl are old hands at this kind of thing--see their excellent Zeppelin homages on the Queens' "Songs for the Deaf." But they definitely seem inspired by Jonesy's presence, and he helps them keep it light.
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From tip to toe, Them Crooked Vultures is composed with an endearing confidence and swagger, executed with aplomb by musicians at the peak of their prowess.
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Believe it or not, though, this appealingly lightweight set of funky robo-rock jams actually makes good on Homme's promise.
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The biggest pleasure of Them Crooked Vultures is hearing three supremely gifted players fall together quickly and easily on songs built on simple riffs that sound like they were made up on a lark five minutes earlier.
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The release is not without brief visits to riff heaven, and it’s in the details that there are pleasures to be found....But too often you bop along to the tight drum/bass syncopations only to forget what you’re listening to--or worse, why.
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The trio gel in a way most supergroups don't, it all crunches vigorously along, and the kind of irredeemable character who talks approvingly about a guitarist's "licks" will love it. It's more that it's superfluous.
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UncutIn their careers, this band might prove to be a sideshow. But right now, it's one with the possibility of being as gripping as the main event. [Jan 2010, p. 104]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 141 out of 153
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Mixed: 4 out of 153
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Negative: 8 out of 153
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CarlVApr 13, 2010
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May 17, 2019
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Dec 4, 2017