whoa i forgot all about this. well it's probably a good thing i didnt post any sort of review because my opinion has changed quite a bit. usually when i listen to an album 4 or 5 times, i have a solid feeling about whether or not i actually like it or not. different story here... i thought "like clockwork" was awesome when it came out but i have quite a few reservations now.
great intro track. "Keep Your Eyes Peeled". the beginning of the song is has a heavy "era vulgaris" vibe IMO. what i enjoy is that it sort of tricks you into thinking that they went in a similar direction with the dissonant, "city noise" type stuff... but there is a fair amount of contrast by the end of the song. "I sat by the ocean" has really classic QUOTSA riffs and vocal melodies, sort of a quick song that never really goes anywhere or says much. you get excited when the song starts, but when it breaks into the chorus, i always feel really let down. "vampyre of time and memory" is an awesome song with a super lame title. the synthesizer/key stuff is excellent. "if i had a tail" is just boring as fuck and complete filler material. i enjoy "my god is the sun". good tune. it reminds me most of the "songs for the deaf"-era material, which is probably why i like it so much. dark, but with plenty of intensity. another short song, kind of radio-friendly. "fairweather friends", best song for sure. great riffage, the sort of shit i expect from this band. like the piano. i'm pretty sure elton john sang on this song as well, which is completely bad-ass. the last three songs enticed me on the first listens, but they basically amount to nothing but more filler with a few interesting moments.
a lot of very different material here, he definitely has evolved as a songwriter since the self-titled days, but i didn't feel that this release had a very clear direction. it's all over the place. some of it just sounds a little too soft and sort of tame or "safe". it's like he's trying to break into this vocal+piano slow song sort of thing, but it just doesn't come out well! i can't imagine that he's going to start writing crunchy desert rock again after this, so i sort of have a bad feeling about any future releases. QUOTSA is still one of my favorite bands, but their first three albums will never be beat. "lullabies to paralyze" was about "half-good". era vulgeris has two great songs, two good songs, and the rest is a total letdown. "like clockwork" is the band's least impressive album for sure, thus adding to the decline of memorable material which started with "lullabies". i still anxiously await any new material, but i can definitely say that i am not expecting to be dazzled. this is no longer fuzzy, desert, or stoner, rock and roll. like NAD said, maybe i'm just not in their target audience anymore. bummer
TL;DR - the groove is officially gone
x1.21 gigawatts
