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Lullabies to Paralyze
: is still good, but I think what made QOTSA so awesome in the first place was the diversity of the vocalists. Lets face it, Josh is a great singer, but he can't sing low and gritty like Mark and definately can't scream like Nick. The different vocals are what kept anything from sounding the same.
Even though it is my least favorite QOTSA album, it is still great and has some amazing songs, the best being Tangled up in Plaid.
 I'm a avid fan of QOTSA and I've owned this album for a couple days now and from what I can tell so far, this album is definitely weirder than the others. While songs in other albums are usually topical and to the point, songs on this album are more lucid and detached. Almost dreamy. Of course, QOTSA sticks to the genre like a true worshipper of rock n' roll with songs usually covering Sex (love), drugs and death. Its true the bassist left prior to this album coming out and I think his departure had inspired a few songs on this album. Messages of goodbye and shame are in "Everyone knows that you're insane", "In my head", "Tangled up in plaid," and "I never came" to just name a few. Songs that are more lucid and the singing of Josh Homme seems detached as if whispering coming from somewhere and to reflect enlightened observations in a comforting tone like "Someone's in the wolf" and "Blood is love". Musically this album seems more limited, while guitars don't really play a huge part in creating a song for QOTSA, usually that is left up to the bass and drums while guitars add to the ambient texture in a song. While there's some fun rock songs on this album, the weirdo downer, spacehead, songs on this album seem to bring them down. I don't know if this new direction is in response to their bassist leaving but its mostly likely. I gave it a 3 because I don't like the new direction they're going. Check out any album prior to this to see their fun rock side in its perfection.
I love the Queens so much. I heard Little Sister and got a leaked version of Tangled Up In Plaid before the album came out. SO... I figured if these songs are any representation of the album to come...then things will be just like they were. You know always raw and kick ass. Josh Homme is a rock god in my opinion and kick ass rock and roll is what he does better than anyone around right now. I mean Dave Grohl asked Josh Homme to play on his album. Dave is supposed to be the "it" guy of the moment in rock.
Unfortunately...on this album that kick ass has been turned down a notch or two because of the absense of the previously mentioned rawness of the last three albums. I mean it's way better than what I or most normal people could do but, it drags so bad. I fell asleep halfway through the album the 3rd time around. The other albums kept me on edge the whole album for at least the first 3 months after I had them. Joshua Homme better find that crazy punk abandon he had when Nick was in the band or he may have declinig sales for the rest of his career with the Queens.
But there are some really strong points on the album. Tangled Up In Plaid is the most bad ass song Josh has ever composed. That is one of the very few raw tracks on the album. Skin On Skin is crazy erratic with the vocals and it reels you in really quick. The pauses after the first verse are very reminiscent of You Would Know (off of the first album). Everybody Knows That You're Insane starts off really slow and scary almost like a Black Sabbath song would, then it quickily jumps into this really quick punky number from the first chorus on out. It is amazing at first but, it also tends to drag itself out because there isn't a real change of musical landscape.
I don't know... I'm not dissapointed but I'm not thrilled either. The album has it's moments but more often than not it doesn't. It's still better than the rest of the crap on MTV.
I feel as if I'm the only one saying this but it has to be said. Queens was better with Nick. Lullabies has great moments such as Medication, Everybody Knows That You Are Insane (I find it funny though I cant tell if this is about Nick or Brodie), I Never Came (something new and inventive by Josh as always), Skin on Skin (J. Devil with Josh), and Burn the Witch. Great songs! Queens quality, but i dont know, I remember them making albums and enviroments not moments and rooms. Lullabies to Paralyze (a line for Mosquito Song on Songs for Deaf) is a perfect mix of rated R and Songs for deaf, but without any of the excitment of either. Nick sang and made You think I Ain't Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like (well not wrote but it sucked without him), Six Shooter, Gonna Leave You,Another Love Song (all songs for deaf), Auto Pilot, Quick and to the Pointless, Tension Head (all rated R) which are those 'other' songs that arent singles but make a record a record. Can you have the Beatles without Mr. Harrison. (While my guitar gently weeps was not a single, yet a song that has gone down in history). Is the album good? Yes! Can Josh drag on with his I'm a guitar god who can fake singing? Yes! This album gets boring with out bass lines like In The Fade (rated R) and without vocal like You think I Ain't Worth A Dollar But I Feel Like. Josh did what a great musician such as himself should never do. He limited himself. It's medicore, such a dirty word for him. I heard jokes before it being released of it being call "queens light", and it should have been (there not that much lighter just that much less to them). Riffs feel old for some reason, and alot of times cheap. Theres less variation. Not a album but a few good songs, not what Quuens should be to me. If your the kinda of listener that wants some fun buzz for the ear, will keep steady, not change your view, and do COLOR BY F*^%ING NUMBERS. Yes, this is great. But if you want a painting so real you can swim in its streams and eat the apples growing on the trees, No. Just wait, Josh and Nick have grow apart before and come back together, I can tell by how much Josh has to defend this album in interviews he know Nick was the perfect individual for any artist who needed a beat, needed a riff, needed a new sound, needed a different direction for a song, or needed a finishing touch. (who thought?) P.S. New Nick album is a bit better than this but suffers from Nick kinda lossing it a few times, or probley a lack of ANY controll. So for both Nick and Josh Mondo Generator ROCKS, Dessert Session ROCKS, but Queens is just not the same without the two intertwined in sweet love. (so stop playing with yourself)
 I'll be honest: when I heard "Little Sister" a few weeks ago, I was less than impressed. I was fairly apprehensive that QOTSA were going to take the low road and produce a substandard record to satisfy their pocketbooks.
Not the case. The band sounds better than ever, even without Nick Oliveri. Some of the grit and off-the-wall strangeness is gone, and that's probably because they don't have Nick to open this album like he did on "Songs For the Deaf." However, what it lacks in rawness is made up for in creativity. The songs are driving and unmistakeably QOTSA. In an industry where these guys were once the exception, and then the norm, they've proven themselves once more to be a step above the rest.
"Little Sister" is my least favorite song on the CD. Songs like "Everybody Knows That You're Insane" are edgy and stay with you. The "Wolf" (not sure of the exact title) song trails off, descends into some surreal noises, and comes blazing back for a finale, staying true to the QOTSA roots.
All in all, a great album that won't leave my CD player for quite some time.
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