New Times for Josh Homme in Queens of the Stone Age In Times New Roman… Album

Queens of the Stone Age released their latest hard rock album, In Times New Roman…, this past Friday. Following Villains in 2017, the ten heavy, emotional tracks mark singer and guitarist Josh Homme’s first return to making music in years.

Guitarist and keyboardists Troy Van Leeuwen and Dean Fertita, bassist Michael Shuman and drummer Jon Theodore started recording the band’s eighth studio album in 2021. Val Leeuwen and Fertita intended to bring back a signature aspect of the band’s style, which is guitar as a leading sound. Then, Homme followed up with vocals over a year later and spewed his emotive, trademark wordplay into the mic.

In an interview with Revolver, Homme explained everything that went into In Times New Roman…, revealing that it emerged from a period of feeling “chained to the floor.” The album comes about four years after his public divorce and ongoing custody battle.

This is the first time I didn’t want to make a record, but I was dealing with a lot of stuff in my personal life. We recorded a lot of stuff. I think I was doing it because when I’m in trouble, this is what I do. This is where I go to get right.

Homme, in Revolver

As Homme grappled with this turbulent period, he said making music was like therapy and religion. He views In Times New Roman… as one of his most vulnerable releases.

For me, it’s all personal. When someone says it’s not personal, I’m like, ‘That’s just the lie you tell yourself, motherfucker.’ If it’s not personal, don’t do it.

Homme, in Revolver

Directed by and starring Liam Lynch, the “Emotion Sickness” video premiered on May 12. Alongside the poignant lyrics, the visual features skeletons and humans with animal heads to craft a variety of unique and trippy scenes.

The title of the song “Emotion Sickness” captures the albums underlying theme. The phrase, which repeats on multiple tracks, reflects something Homme felt over the years, along with the growth and optimism that came from it.

There were times I almost didn’t make it. It’s OK for me to ruminate on that. It’s not OK to stay there, feel too sorry for myself. This has been the darkest four years of my life. But that’s OK, too.

Homme, in Revolver

Through the connotations of “Obscenery,” the anger and intensity channeled in “Paper Machete” and the masochist undertones of “Sicily,” many of the songs reveal aspects of Homme’s psyche.

First released as a single on May 31, the visual for “Carnavoyeur” is the band’s most recent video drop. Using Matador and Death characters played by director Liam Lynch, along with other dark and ominous elements, the video encapsulates the song’s sense of surrender to mortality.

The album was produced by Queens of the Stone Age and mixed by Mark Rankin. Listen to In Times New Roman… here, and see Queens of the Stone Age perform it live this year at Riot Fest!

[yarpp]