I don’t have a lot of love for many of Queens’ post-Lullabies records. I like them. But I don’t like them the way I love Rated R, Songs for the Deaf, Lullabies to Paralyze, and their grungy-as-hell self-titled debut.
More and more, I find myself returning to that first record because of its undiluted, rough-around-the-edges aesthetic.
Villains rarely gets airtime in my home. Same for Era Vulgaris, although that one has aged well — a proper grower. I actually like it way more now than I did back in 2007.
But my pecking order of most-listened-to QOTSA albums hasn’t changed, and In Times New Roman isn’t breaking into it:
- Songs for the Deaf
- Rated R
- Self-Titled
- Lullabies to Paralyze
- Era Vulgaris
The Shift After …Like Clockwork
For me, …Like Clockwork marks the turning point. I know lots of people love it, but I don’t rate it.
That’s when the chaos, weirdness, and outsider vibe started getting traded in for something more polished, more thought-out, more radio-friendly.
Before that, Queens felt dangerous. After that, they started writing for stadiums instead of clubs.
And that’s fine; it’s the natural order of things for a band that wants to last decades. But some of the magic disappears when the dirt and heaviness get scrubbed away.
Where In Times New Roman Stands
On that note, In Times New Roman is the best of their recent run. But given the pedestrian nature of Villains and the fact that …Like Clockwork never did much for me, that’s not saying a whole lot. It still doesn’t crack the top five.
I’m a stoner rock dude at heart, and the newer records lean a little too heavy on the cabaret and a little too light on the riffs. Still, there are bangers here: “Emotion Sickness,” “Straight Jacket,” “Time & Place,” “Made to Parade,” and “Carnavoyer” all hit harder with each listen.
Homme remains a beast on the guitar, and his singing has never been better. Ironically, that might be part of why the newer stuff doesn’t land for me: he’s evolved, and I haven’t.
I still want Queens in C Standard, half-drunk, sounding like they’ve got a stomach full of psilocybin.
Final Thoughts
In Times New Roman is a solid record, maybe even their strongest of the past decade. But it’s a different band now than it was in 2002, and that’s cool. Things change, people change, and as you get older you start to realize that the bands you grew up listening to have the right to change too.
For me, as a Queens lifer, this record is a step in the right direction. I hear remnants of the band’s magic at play in certain tracks. But it’s never going to be something I’ll feel compelled to put on at least once a month like I do with Songs For The Deaf and Rated R.
This review (like all reviews) is subjective. I’m not telling you what to think, just how I see this record sitting in amongst the band’s back catalog. I prefer it to Villains, I think I like it more than …Like Clockwork (again, sue me), and I am looking forward to seeing what Homme and boys do next.
At this stage, I guess my only real wish for what comes next is that the band brings back some of the sleaze and dirt of its older records, but even if they don’t those records aren’t going anywhere, and if you’re new to Queens and this is your first and second outing, well… you’ve got an immense catalog of work to dig into.
