Them Crooked Vultures - Them Crooked Vultures

Them Crooked Vultures
Them Crooked Vultures
2.5/5

Dave Grohl. Josh Homme. John Paul Jones. Those three names should have grabbed your attention if you have even an ounce of rock in your soul. That's all well and good, but the music probably won't.

The problem is, there's not a lot really here to grab you. Nothing that exploits the trio's strengths. There are fleeting moments of promise. Halfway through the opening track 'No One Loves Me...', a monstrous riff hits and makes you take notice for two minutes. And the intro of 'Gunmen' is one of the funkiest you'll ever hear without blasting out some early Chili Peppers, but it's a sound that doesn't work with Homme's vocals. In truth, what we have is a new QOTSA album with a few bells and whistles. There's little nodding towards Zeppelin or Nirvana which renders the hype around Grohl (on drums in this collaboration) and Jones pointless.

Built on the back of hype and secrecy, Them Crooked Vultures was always likely to be a disappointment, but the point is, these three musicians have nothing to prove anymore. And it shows. Stick on the first three or four Kyuss, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin albums and you'll see what's missing.