Eagles of Death Metal Albums (3)
What The Critics Say
The Eagles of Death Metal take big steps forward with each of their albums, making their scuzz-rock sleeker and catchier without sacrificing its sludgy hedonism: Death by Sexy added seedy glitz and extra sneering to Peace Love Death Metal's gleefully low-rent Rolling Stones worship, and Heart On ups the ante again. Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme boil down their fetishes for boogie rock, disco, glam rock -- and above all, strutting riffs -- into its most combustible essence while also finding far more shades and moods in it than they have before. Kicking off with "Anything 'Cept the Truth"'s massive swagger, Heart On is top-loaded with addictive rockers. "Secret Plans"'' climbing riff and "I want what I want what I want" are pure id, and "Wannabe in L.A." picks up where Death by Sexy's "I Want You So Hard (Boy's Bad News)" left off, delivering effortlessly catchy late-2000s hedonism (at this point, "I'm burnin' gas until I feel all right" sounds way more decadent than sex or drugs). "(I Used to Couldn't Dance) Tight Pants" and "High Voltage" are the Eagles of Death Metal at their most louche and kinetic, soundtracking a long night out with grinding riffs and low-slung basslines. That string of songs sums up the band's slavish, sometimes exhausting dedication to the rock ethos so well that it's almost a relief when "Now I'm a Fool," Eagles of Death Metal's first honest-to-goodness ballad, ushers in Heart On's darker second half. Whether it's about breaking up with a woman, Los Angeles, or both, "Now I'm a Fool" is one of the album's best songs, its drifting introspection and smooth contours making it stand out all the more among the rest of Heart On's hard edges. From there, the album brings back the rock but remains just confessional enough to reveal a few chinks in the band's armor as they dig into loves, friendships, and nights out gone bad. Hughes wonders "what good's a heart if it's not on your sleeve" on the Stones disco-gone-Devo of the title track, while "Cheap Thrills"' guitar squalls stretch the scope of the song's world-weary emptiness. Even the songs with cartoonish titles don't play out exactly as expected -- "Solo Flights" sings the praises of masturbation, but with lines like "no one gets to love me," it's not all jokes, and while the final track "I'm Your Torpedo" is a proudly obvious mating call, its hypnotic groove is also surprisingly serious. Fans of the goofy rock send-ups Hughes and Homme did on Peace Love Death Metal and Death by Sexy might think the pair are taking themselves too seriously here, but they add just enough maturity to the mix to make Heart On a consistently great album. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Taking things a little more seriously -- but never too seriously -- the second time around, the Eagles of Death Metal's Death by Sexy keeps the freewheeling, just-for-the-hell-of-it vibe that made Peace Love Death Metal so much fun and improves on it with more focused songwriting. This songwriting, as the title Death by Sexy implies, is obviously focused on a raunchy good time, which the album delivers in spades. Not so obvious, though, is how fine the line between lusty and skanky can be. Most of the time, as on "I Want You So Hard," "I Like to Move in the Night," and "Cherry Cola," the Eagles of Death Metal stay on the sexy side of that line, but they even do the nasty (so to speak) stuff well: On "I Got a Feelin' (Just 19)" and "Shasta Beast," head Eagle Jesse "The Devil" Hughes -- who sports a mustache not seen outside of '70s porn (or, possibly, Terry Richardson's high-sleaze photography) -- sings of barely legal girls who still live with their parents, and gets downright cruel on the glammy stomp of "Poor Doggie." Even though Death by Sexy is more fleshed-out than their debut was, the Eagles of Death Metal's simplest moments are still their best. Along with the previously mentioned "I Want You So Hard" and "Cherry Cola" -- which has backing vocals courtesy of Brody Dalle that give it an extra-sexy edge -- the album's standouts include "Chase the Devil," which marks the return of Hughes' demented Elvis impersonation, and "Solid Gold," a rollicking-yet-hypnotic instrumental that could soundtrack a go-go dancing contest. Fittingly for its on-the-prowl vibe, Death by Sexy spends a minimum of time on brooding tracks like "Eagles Goth" and "Bag O' Miracles." Instead, it focuses on songs that sound good in bad places, and its gloriously, thoroughly trashy fun makes it a guilt-free fling. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Eagles of Death Metal may seem like a side project within a side project -- having debuted on the third and fourth volumes of Josh Homme's ever-changing collaboration the Desert Sessions -- but that doesn't mean that the band's first full-length, Peace Love Death Metal, plays like an afterthought. Going by the alias Carlo Von Sexron, Homme supplies simple but effective drumming on longtime friend Jesse Hughes' appealingly tossed-off songs; like the Desert Sessions' releases, one of this album's greatest strengths is its off-the-cuff vibe. As with their earlier songs, on Peace Love Death Metal the band tends more toward the Eagles side of their name than the Death Metal part; the album is rife with classic rock riffs and allusions, from the "Spirit in the Sky" throb of "San Berdoo Sunburn" to the cover of Stealer's Wheel's "Stuck in the Middle With You" (affectionately redubbed "Stuck in the Metal") to the overall Rolling Stones-meets-garage rock aesthetic. Hughes isn't quite as commanding a vocalist as Homme is, but he is a versatile one, opting for a breathy, nearly androgynous tone that works especially well on "Stacks o' Money" and a tremulous baritone that recalls Lux Interior on "Speaking in Tongues." Basically, the Eagles of Death Metal sound like one of the more entertaining bar bands that you're ever likely to hear, especially on "I Only Want You," "Bad Dream Mama," and "English Girl." On the other hand, the unusually dark "Already Died" is an atypical highlight, with the ominous but melodic feel of Homme's Desert Sessions or Queens of the Stone Age material. The band's forays into blues on "Flames Go Higher" and "Midnight Creeper" also work well and fit in with the rest of Peace Love Death Metal's spontaneity and sense of humor. Jokey moments like "Kiss the Devil," a bizarrely catchy fusion of punkabilly stomp mixed with gospel-like vocal harmonies, add some refreshing weirdness to the album, but tracks such as the aptly named "Wastin' My Time" fall flat. Like Desert Sessions, Vol. 9-10, Peace Love Death Metal starts out strong and peters out in its last few tracks. That's not particularly surprising, or even all that disappointing, considering that the album was recorded in three days and having fun seems to be its main reason for being. Fortunately, its sense of fun carries over to its listeners instead of remaining a "you had to be there" experience. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide
