LCD Soundsystem
AMERICAN DREAM
In 2011, LCD Soundsystem said
they’d never be back. But last
year, they finally were –
headlining Coachella,
announcing Aussie shows
and even a new album.
American Dream is the group’s
first in seven years and heralds
a return to form. Does it live up
to the synth-soaked
super-hype? Put on your
dancing shoes and find out.
OUT SEPTEMBER 1;
LCDSOUNDSYSTEM.COMThe Horrors
V
Speaking of synths, fans of
‘80s new wave, post-punk
electronica and industrial
trance will find their happy
place in this genre-blurring
record. Teaming up with
legendary Grammy, Oscar,
Golden Globe and Brit
award-winning producer Paul
Epworth has paid off, as this is
one record that should not be
glazed over, even if it does
have an early ’00s tinge.
OUT SEPTEMBER 22;
THEHORRORS.CO.UKalex cameron
FORCED WITNESS
If cinematic-‘80s-road-noir
was a genre, then Alex
Cameron has it conquered
with album number two.
Recorded in Berlin, Los
Angeles and Las Vegas,
this high-concept LP from
the ex-Seekae frontman
features Angel Olsen, Brandon
Flowers (The Killers), epic
horn from Roy Malloy – and
undercurrents of dark
hedonism. OUT SEPTEMBER 8;
ALEXCAMERONONLINE.NET.AUTHE
PLAYLISTWORDS: NOELLE FAULKNER.70 GQ.COM.AU SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017
THE BRIEF
FOO FIGHTERS, FALL OUT BOY, RINGO STARR AND SYNTH-LOVING ’80S MUSIC ICON
GARY NUMAN ARE EACH RELEASING NEW ALBUMS ON SEPTEMBER 15.W
hen Queens of the Stone Age
announced they would be
working with Mark Ronson on
new album, Villains, the internet- as it always does – responded
with many an opinion. Granted,
the loudest protests came from diehard Queens fans
who still define front man Josh Homme by his former
heavy-rock outfit, Kyuss. Still, the idea that a producer
so fond of big-band brass was working with the stoner
rock legends was widely considered sacrilege.
But Ronson turned out to be Queens’ secret weapon.
Literally – Homme had previously said, “no special
guests will feature” on the album, and the producer was
hidden from view, right up until its announcement in
June. But the signs were there. 2013’s ...Like Clockwork
saw cameos from Dave Grohl and Elton John, among
others, and Homme had only recently joined Ronson
for Lady Gaga’s epic single ‘Perfect Illusion’.
“I saw how Mark worked and after watching him for
about an hour, I knew,” says Homme, whose son
introduced him to the “tight and vacuous” groove of
‘Uptown Funk’, a place close to where he wanted to
take Queens. “I knew I wanted to change our sound
a little bit... He’s very beat-centric, like we are; so there
was so much overlap between what he likes and what we
like... which I think is part of the cool surprise of it all.”
Homme has never cared much for critics when it
comes to his band’s distinct evolution. “It’s not about
trying to recreate a hit,” he says. “That’s for somebody
else. This is about taking a chance that may make all
our fans say, ‘I wish you hadn’t done that’.”
He co-credits this ‘seize the moment’ headspace to
Iggy Pop, who he worked with on the icon’s Post Pop
Depression, released last year. “The only thing you really
control is letting go. If I make something for myself
that I feel is honest and real, then I can deal with the
worst criticism in the world. I know not everyone’s
gonna like it. But I need to make something I believe in
and that my guys believe in – I’d rather fail out of new
mistakes than make the old ones, you know?”
The result is Villains, a beat-conscious album that –
one way or another – just wants to get you moving. “My
goal has always been to walk between the raindrops and
not get wet” quips Homme. “This record is about just
trying to grab people by their shirt collar and say:
‘You can use your feet – to dance or to walk away –
but you can’t sleep’.” VILLAINS IS OUT NOW.Josh
Homme
wants you
to dance
WITH ALL THAT’S HAPPENED IN THE
FOUR YEARS SINCE THEIR LAST ALBUM,
YOU MIGHT EXPECT QUEENS OF THE
STONE AGE TO PRODUCE A DARK,
BROODING FOLLOW-UP. IF SO,
YOU’RE IN FOR A SURPRISE.