Homme has marshaled all of his strengths on ...Like Clockwork and has found a way forward, a way to deepen his music without compromising his identity.
…Like Clockwork is everything Queens of the Stone Age fans could have asked for. The musicianship is insane. The lyrics are at times loose and entertaining, and other times are heartfelt and emotional.
As if he’s following the path laid down by so many of his ’70s rock heroes, Homme is entering a new decade with a crisp, borderline robotic update of his band’s sound.
With all its sonic diversity, consistency and precision, ...Like Clockwork is an impressive step in the right direction.
It should go without saying but it needs to said: this is an intricate, jarring and complicated piece of work and is undeniably brilliant.
With ...Like Clockwork, Queens of The Stone Age pulls together their dreariest album yet, but don't forget to deliver plenty of badass alt rock numbers in the process.
All the personalities put themselves in the background to let the songs shine and the moods are laid out in such a manner with the music that the flow is nearly perfect. ...Like Clockwork is easily the best release from the band since Songs for the Deaf.
The crap filter has been whacked up to 11 and the groove-o-tron set to interstellar for the band’s slickest offering to date.
It’s the one of the best QOTSA records to date. It also might be the first rock release of the dystopian blog-eat-blog era capable of recapturing the idea of music as a shared experience—that is, there are a lot of people waiting to get their ears in it.
I called them solid and dependable previously and that sense of solidness is the first thing that comes across on ...Like Clockwork. They are a Volvo of a band, reliable, they will not let you down.
Despite the distinct swerve in direction, there are still numerous killer blows to be found on …Like Clockwork.
Like Clockwork may have been wrought from turmoil, what it delivers is the sound of Queens Of The Stone Age back at the top of their game.
This is tension, then more tension, then even more tension on the chorus until your subconscious has been thoroughly scrambled; only then does release come, usually in the form of a gnarled guitar solo.
Now on the other side of forty, this is QOTSA as weary of mortality as they’ve ever been. They also sound as vital, forceful and rough around the edges as they have in over a decade
Make no mistakes, though: . . . Like Clockwork still runs on Homme's grizzled-dude-against-the-world intensity
With Mark Lanegan and even former bass player Nick Oliveri contributing as well, there's been much talk of a return to the Songs for the Deaf-era line-up and, some fans hoped, sound. That's not the case, but …Like Clockwork is definitely their best offering since that paranoid classic.
A mature, heart-on-sleeve epic, and an acute reminder that we’re still in the midst of a master.
By having faith that his songwriting ability would stand up to being thrust into unchartered musical territory, he’s overseen the making of a tight album that has a cohesiveness that belies how open it is to new – and genuinely exciting – ideas.
The real magic here is that, despite expanding their sonic remit further than ever, Queens Of The Stone Age are still the same peerless band, indebted only to themselves.
...Like Clockwork is a return to form.
There is something to be said of a band that can tap so many musical icons without ceding the spotlight or deviating from a plan of action: this is still a Queens of the Stone Age record (with friends).
…Like Clockwork is one of the year’s finer rock albums — an exercise in songwriting, production, and musicianship.
On …Like Clockwork, a wide array of influences and guests allow Homme and company to explore their interest in pop while showing off their penchant for complex and heavy instrumentation.
...Like Clockwork, despite its troubled genesis and dark subject matter, sounds rejuvenated and triumphant.
...Like Clockwork simply foregrounds an aspect that’s been lingering in the Queens’ music since the beginning: beneath all that volcanic riffage, Homme has always been a sucker for a pretty pop song.
While it really can't compete with those first few, groundbreaking QOTSA classics, the album does restore the natural order of the band's evolutionary creative arc.
...Like Clockwork is the sound of the band, oddly, albeit entertainingly unsettled.
This is a record that feels more loose and laid-back, which is appropriate for a group that’s getting back together after a few years off.
It's not entirely successful, but also it's far from a failure - and it's certainly a unique piece of art that shouldn't be dismissed after the first or second listen.
...Like Clockwork is an irreverent turn for the ever-irreverent Queens, and I don't mind at all the ambitious, new, not-so-Queens ideas. But perhaps a little minimalism—not stretching so many of those ideas to close to or more than five minutes—would make this an infinitely more enjoyable ride.
QOTSA can still devastate and his lyrics still tread that delicious line between romance and nihilism, but ...Like Clockwork either runs too slickly, or the mechanism feels forced.
These minor virtues aside, …Like Clockwork is a droning, incoherent endeavor, and it simply doesn’t reward the attention it’s asking for.
QOTSA's magnum opus.
Queens of the Stone Age are probably one of my favorite bands when it comes to the "hard rock" genre in the past 20 years, (although this thing is much more than just hard rock). However, somehow this album flew over my head completely when I listened to it about a year ago. But with more listens, I realized how brilliant and potent it is, and it's pretty much the album that got me into Queens of the Stone Age in the first place.
This is the band's 6th studio ... read more
Happy 10th to one of my favorite records of all time from possibly my favorite rock outfit of all time.
I've been a QOTSA fan since maybe early-mid 2017, right around the time where "Villains", this album's follow-up, was being to be rolled out with singles like "The Evil Has Landed" and "The Way You Used To Do". I remember fondly that this used to be my favorite record of all time around sophomore year of high-school. Everything from the textures to the ... read more
Shit, I don’t really know where to begin with this.
So exactly one year ago I wrote a review for this album that went like this:
“Good lord this went way harder on the second playthrough, loved every minute of it. I'm not that familiar with QotSA's earlier discography, but this definitely seems like them approaching near perfection of their craft.”
This was around the time of when I first joined AOTY, and to provide some context the day I wrote that review it was snowing ... read more
...Wow. Genuinely speechless. I listened to Songs for the Deaf a month or two ago and thought it was amazing. I was still interested in listening to more from the band, and later saw that this was another one of their highest rated albums on the site. I then read all the reviews saying this album was absolutely amazing. So today I decided would be the day I listen to this album, and wow, I'm genuinely in awe. I was expecting to love this album as much, if not more than SFTD. However, I honestly ... read more
Just didn't really get anything from this album. I didn't add any songs to my Spotify Library, I did find Smooth Sailing quite catchy. Maybe I need to re-listen at a later date...
1 | Keep Your Eyes Peeled 5:04 | 92 |
2 | I Sat By the Ocean 3:55 | 94 |
3 | The Vampyre of Time and Memory 3:34 | 93 |
4 | If I Had a Tail 4:55 | 92 |
5 | My God Is the Sun 3:55 | 95 |
6 | Kalopsia 4:38 | 92 |
7 | Fairweather Friends 3:43 | 92 |
8 | Smooth Sailing 4:51 | 92 |
9 | I Appear Missing 6:00 | 98 |
10 | ...Like Clockwork 5:24 | 95 |
#1 | / | CraveOnline |
#2 | / | FasterLouder |
#3 | / | NME |
#4 | / | The Daily Beast |
#4 | / | The Needle Drop |
#6 | / | Amazon |
#6 | / | Obscure Sound |
#6 | / | Rolling Stone |
#7 | / | Gigwise |
#7 | / | Sputnikmusic |