Rock
Them Crooked Vultures Them Crooked Vultures
DGC / Interscope
ESSENTIAL “No One Loves Me & Neither Do I’’
When in doubt, freak ’em out. That seems to be the philosophy behind Them Crooked Vultures, the teaming of Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones on bass and keys, Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl on drums, and Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme on guitars and vocals. 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. Jones still has powerful rock chops, deploying an assortment of nimble rhythm lines and various sonic accoutrements that give this record its psychedelic sheen. Grohl and Homme, who have an established working chemistry, sound fearless in ushering Jones back into some muscular boogie after his years away from the stuff. The best-crafted songs hit early, with spry wordplay and shape-shifting arrangements dominating the top half of the record. Somewhere in the middle, around the martial “Elephants’’ or jittery “Reptiles,’’ things get weirder and hazier. Celebrating power trios of yore, the Vultures find the crossroads of Cream and the Jimi Hendrix Experience on “Scumbag Blues.’’ The drug haze gets thick on “Interlude With Ludes,’’ and “Warsaw’’ leaves you hearing double. (Out tomorrow)
