The more I hear the self-titled debut from supertrio Them Crooked Vultures, the more I like it. Of course, it only came out at the beginning of November, so take that for what it’s worth, but increasingly, songs like “Mind Eraser, No Chaser,” “Scumbag Blues,” “Reptiles,” and opener “No One Loves Me and Neither Do I” are popping up in the mental jukebox to the point of keeping me awake at night.

Blah blah blah supergroup, blah blah blah Josh Homme, John Paul Jones, Dave Grohl. That’s all been said already, by me and just about everyone else out there. I’ll spare the slobbering worship of the past work of any of the three players involved in Them Crooked Vultures (this time), and just say that they managed to make a slyly subversive and edgy rock record in an era when the entirety of the corporate environment in which they’re working is geared toward the exact opposite. This record came out on the same label as Lady Gaga and Puddle of Mudd, if that’s any indication. I felt guilty buying it, but each listen provides justification. It’s just a bunch of cool songs. Some clunkers, admittedly. Nature of the beast.

So, for the memorable songwriting, and if for nothing else, that riff in the first track, Them Crooked Vultures makes the top 10. It’ll probably show up higher on a lot of other lists, but since it’s a late release and I don’t want to be the guy gushing all over the popular record, it is where it is. To not acknowledge it in some way would have been neglectful on my part, especially since, at least thus far, it’s kept me coming back with steady regularity.

Tags: Them Crooked Vultures, Top 10 of 2009

This entry was posted on Monday, December 14th, 2009 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.