Queens Of The Stone Age - '...Like Clockwork' - Track By Track Analysis
The Vampyre of Time and Memory Vampyre is a bout of fizzing piano-led poetry delivered in alarmingly Bowie-esque vocals which simmers and splutters towards a heartfelt crescendo, layered with the first spat of Hommes newfound lyrical ambiguity. The first song written after his aforementioned near-death experience, there are some dark and isolated themes buzzing around here, I've survived, I speak. I breathe, I'm incomplete / I'm alive, hurray, you're wrong again coz' I feel no love and its intriguing and brave new territory for Homme. A steadily paced but lush and melodic dream sequence in this often nightmarish masterpiece. If I Had A Tail Lyrically bizarre and musically bone-crunching, If I Had A Tail is a strange little song strung together by metallic hooks which has some fantastic moments that certainly grow on you with repeat listens. Mocking throwaway pop with lines Gitchy, gitchy, ooh la la / Do run run, you wont get far, its up there with the opener as one of Like Clockworks angrier moments. Spot the creepy drowned-out a capella guest slot from Mr Alex Turner at the end. My God Is the Sun If you were to take the archetypal hard rock Foo Fighters formula and strip it to its very core then rebuild it with more in mind than just meat and potatoes radio-pleasing this is the barefaced, knuckleduster riot youd be left with. Rough and ready from the very start, it benefits from the unorthodox instrumentation backing up the monumental central riff twelve-string guitars, Moog synthesizers and maracas all chip in to elevate this from generic lead single teaser fare to a genuine highlight of the record.