Eagles of Death Metal Album Review
This is the second album from Eagles of Death Metal, aka Jesse "Boots Electric" Hughes and Joshua "Baby Duck" Homme, they don't fly solo though; they are aided by a host of their friends, including Liam Lynch, Mark Lanegan and Brody Dalle (who also supplies photographs for the album packaging). Because of this collaborative element it feels like an album made to suit them, born out of a desire to do nothing more than have fun playing music with their mates, and it results in a record awash with tunes that are guaranteed to get you up and dancing.
This is a party album of tunes brimming with hooks and catchy sing along choruses; Rock and Roll as it should be played – raw and not over produced, over the top sexy (and at times sleazy – just reading the lyrics to 'I Got A Feelin (Just 19)' is like scanning the top shelf in the newsagents) and above all it has an arse shaking groove. Stand out tracks 'I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)' and 'Cherry Cola' make you want to stick on a leather jacket, click your fingers and shimmy. Even the country tinged tracks like 'Solid Gold' have a raw edge that makes them more like a romp in the hay than a square dance.
It's not all good news though, because the album is something of a paradox; the good things about it are also the things that start to wear thin quite quickly, like a joke that's been told too many times. There is a tendency to view this project as something of a novelty, mainly because musically there isn't a great deal of variation and the lyrics, although fun, are lacking substance behind their fluff. It's all quite vacuous, and for the most part, although they are obviously enjoying themselves, (as is evident in the lyrics, the stage names and the poses they throw in the photographs on the album's booklet), the musicians don't sound like they are being taxed in the slightest. This is not a record that requires your undivided attention and perhaps that might be the problem because for all its sleaze and groove you may find your mind starts to wander and that you are gagging for something to get your teeth into, something that takes itself a bit more seriously. But then again, perhaps that's the point, after all this is a party album, and sometimes you just want to party.