Queens of the Stone Age Sit By The Ocean With Moodiness

I must say Queens Of The Stone Age know how to drain the life out of love. "I Sat By The Ocean" goes the extra mile in the breathtaking arrangement area. Both the bass and electric guitar are a dreariness coated disfigurement,wobbling from one point on the chord scale to another. Michael Shuman gives us bass that has no qualms about flexing its muscle. Meanwhile Josh Homme's guitar drops in that much needed angst crucial to making the song a curiosity you have to stick around for even though deep down you're saying to yourselves "Whatever predicament this man and woman are in it can't end all that well." That the universe of the song doesn't stay in one place staring at its navel makes it that much easier to want to care for the two people involved. There's this understated crescendo that builds as Josh flits from note to note. The end of the storyline arc is so satisfying. If I was to connect a weather condition to this song I'd say steady rain with precious little chance of things clearing up any time soon. These two are like ships passing in the night. Sympathy? Don't bother giving it to him. The potion he drinks to erase her doesn't achieve the desired result. Crying isn't going to cut it either. I guess the central leading man is as far away from content as one can be. Eventually the passing ships crash. The open flesh wounds bleed out. The Titanic of meet cutes this most definitely is. Jon Theodore doesn't put much strut on display behind the kit. His version of skin bashing is familiar to the interaction between an overwrought soul and his friend who isn't sure how close to come before he's unintentionally making the agony worse. "Time wounds all the heals" is a notably sinister warping of the old "Time heals all wounds" saying. In Josh's way of putting it Time rips open all signs of psychological closure. As breakup songs go this beauty isn't too far away from downbeat violins which are loathe to leave minor chords. "I Sat By The Ocean" is suitable for those lonely nights when basic brooding won't cut it. The Palm Desert, California group's current "...Like Clockwork" album could be deemed heavy rock on the basis of this track alone. Check out the rest of the set only if you have enough reserve energy left following the futile yet needed cry you're bound to have after reaching out to these fractured folks.