is the fourth studio album by hard rock band Queens of the Stone Age and was released on March 21, 2005. Debuting at number 5 on the Billboard chart, the album sold 97,000 copies in America during its first week of release, eventually topping over 342,000 copies as of March, 2007 according to Nielsen Soundscan. The album has been certified gold in the UK, where it has sold over 100,000 units. Read more on Last.fm.
Queens of the Stone Age is a rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States. The band is frequently labeled stoner rock, although they reject the label. They developed a style of riff-oriented, heavy music which the band's founder and mastermind Josh Homme described as "robot rock", saying that he "wanted to create a heavy sound based on a solid jam, just pound it into your head". Since then, their sound has evolved to incorporate a variety of different styles and influences. Read more on Last.fm
It’s not easy to follow up what many call the best record of the 2000’s. It really isn’t. Songs For The Deaf is as iconic among musicians and purists as REM’s Murmur or Led Zeppelin’s Presence.
Lullabies, however, is a man digging his way out of stardom, mainstream that is, and hoping to build a record that moves people without being repetitive. Homme does this to an extent with Lullabies, but even he probably knew the record wasn’t going to cut heads like Deaf. Instead of trying to duplicate himself, he found a nest egg in minor 80’s influences and proto-punk underground. The combination, kissed with his trademark 3am howl, made for a very interesting record…albeit not one as good or as memorable as Songs For The Deaf.
As a stand alone record, with no forknowledge of of its ancestor, the record is grifty, cool and surface based. Layer wise, it doesn’t reach the Hemingway esq. depths that some fans might have hoped. Who cares? It’s a solid, catchy rock n roll record with a delicious back beat and a knowing glance.
But its not Songs For The Deaf….and maybe that’s okay.