Them Crooked Vultures — Them Crooked Vultures

Of the current wave of supergroups Them Crooked Vultures are the only one that don't seem tacky. To the contrary, they really sound like a real band that actually enjoys working together, like they weren't just thrown in a room like kids on a playdate ("John, you remember Josh...").

With a lineup of Dave Grohl on drums, Josh Homme on guitar and John Paul Jones on bass, one might wonder which host band they sound most like. That would be Queens Of The Stone Age, with Zeppelin taking second and Foo Fighters a distant third.

Actually, the album can be divided evenly between influences. The first four tracks are most like Queens. The next four — including my favourite songs "Elephants" and "Reptiles" — are more akin to Zeppelin. Next comes an interlude which sounds like Grohl raiding Gorillaz work tapes, and the last four tracks are either extended psychedelic-metal jams or the Foo Fighters-ish "Caligulove."

There are some Cream moments and lots of heavy riffing (Jones is running full throttle front to back) thrown in, but otherwise the material should be familiar to Queens fans.

These guys might be in the second half of their lives, but they don't sound old. In a period when talentless rich kids bribe their way to radio, these dads and grand-dads have more vitality than those half their age.

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