New fangs for old vultures

Few debuts in recent memory have been more heavily anticipated than that of Los Angeles based super group Them Crooked Vultures.

The band, consisting of Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl on drums, Queens of the Stone Age's Josh Homme on vocals and Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones on bass, announced their formation over the summer and wasted no time booking a few gigs and putting together their self-titled, self-produced album for Interscope Records.

The mini tour was sold out across the board, and, given the band members' resumes, expectations were high for "Them Crooked Vultures." So did the storied trio measure up to the sum of its parts or fall and add themselves to the long tradition of super groups that fell just short of greatness?Well, a little of both. "Them Crooked Vultures" starts off with a bang. The snappy, bluesy lead track "No One Loves Me & Neither Do I" sets the pace nicely. Following one-two punch of the instant classic lead single "New Fang" and the hum-along romp of "Mind Eraser, No Chaser" make for a sound beginning.

However, it doesn't take long for material to drop off a few notches. Bland rockers "Dead End Friends" and "Elephants" slow the pace dramatically and it doesn't pick back up until the stellar eighth track "Reptiles," which is followed by a rather meandering, pointless interlude.The rest of the album is a similarly mixed bag, as handclap marathon "Caligulove" is a strong track, while the spacey 80's Goth rock vibe of "Gunman" seems trite and out of place.

The downer desert rock of "Spinning In Daffodils" closing out the record nicely, with its catchy chorus and dreamlike verses. This is a super group that really has a shot at being something more than a collection of names on a lyric sheet in the future. They have created a sound unlike any of their previous projects and if it's given the time and space to grow, they could become a real formidable force in their own right. The band has plans to record new material, so hopefully they hone in on this sound.

For the most part, "Them Crooked Vultures" is a solid, dark rock n' roll album. There is no doubt the band is composed of pure talent, but the album falters when trio's strong suits fail to complement each other and conversely succeeds when they mesh their diverse styles seamlessly together. At its' simplest, "Them Crooked Vultures" is a batch of a few less than stellar tracks sandwiched between some real great ones, as the album drags a little in the middle. Homme's airy, smooth vocals are always on point as always and it's really great to hear the 40-year-old Grohl pounding the skins like a young buck. Play it at your next futuristic-desert-rave themed party. This is worth picking up, so grab it at Newbury Comics for $11.99.