Queens of the Stone Age have announced In Times New Roman…, their first album since 2017’s Villains. The LP is out June 16th via Matador Records, while lead single “Emotion Sickness” is out now.
In Times New Roman… was recorded at Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La studio, as well as QOTSA frontman Josh Homme’s Pink Duck. While Villains had a funk groove thanks to Mark Ronson, the band produced its follow-up on their own, with Mark Rankin handling its mixing. The record will be available on streaming, CD, and a variety of colored vinyl, and pre-orders are ongoing.
“Emotion Sickness” feels like a natural progression for Queens of the Stone Age, who over time have paired their growling guitars with a whimsical swing in their step rather than a hard rock scream. “Use once and destroy/ Single servings of pain/ A dose of emotion sickness I just can’t shake,” Homme sings in the off-kilter first verse. By the chorus, however, the song comes together for a seamless melody and a sense that the artist has accepted his fate — whatever it may be. “People come and go on the breeze,” he croons. “For a whole life?/ Possibly.” It’s an interesting line to hear in Homme’s first song since his highly publicized custody battle with ex-wife/Distillers singer Brody Dalle, which has been marred by restraining orders and mutual allegations of abuse.
QOTSA are confirmed to play a number of festivals, including Boston Calling, Sonic Temple in Columbus, Aftershock Festival in Sacramento, and Louder Than Life in Louisville. Tickets are on sale here.
In Times New Roman… Artwork:
In Times New Roman… Tracklist:
01. Obscenery
02. Paper Machete
03. Negative Space
04. Time & Place
05. Made to Parade
06. Carnavoyeur
07. What the Peephole Say
08. Sicily
09. Emotion Sickness
10. Straight Jacket Fitting
Queens of the Stone Age 2023 Tour Dates:
05/28 – Columbus, OH @ Sonic Temple Art & Music Festival
06/16 – Allston, MA @ Boston Calling Festival
06/17 – Neuhausen Ob Eck, Germany @ Southside Festival
06/18 – Landgraaf, Netherlands @ Pinkpop
06/20 – Halifax, UK @ The Piece Hall
06/22 – Margate, UK @ Dreamland
06/23 – Cardiff, UK @ Cardiff Castle
06/28 – Roskilde, DK @ Roskilde Festival
06/30 – Gdynia, PL @ Open’er Festival
07/02 – Werchter, BE @ Rock Werchter
07/04 – Lyon, FR @ Les Nuits de Fourvière
07/05 – Albi, FR @ Base Recreation Pratgraussals
07/07 – Madrid, ES @ Mad Cool Festival
07/08 – Oeiras, PT @ NOS Alive
08/12 – Forest Hills, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium ^
09/09 – São Paulo, BR @ The Town
09/24 – Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life
10/08 – Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock
^ = w/ The Armed and Phantogram
