EAGLES OF DEATH METAL
Death by Sexy
Downtown Records
· Second album from Jesse "the Devil" Hughes and BFF, Joshua Homme (Queens of the Stone Age), who blast out a real party album. More rock falsetto, more of the time!
Jesse "the Devil" Hughes cast himself as the leading man in the dreams of teenage girls years ago. With his handlebar ’stache and foxy wiggle, Hughes has all the makings of a coy rock star. Prancing like a pony in front of the ladies and performing catnip-laced guitar solos, he could simultaneously make committed pupils out of many mere mortal men.
However, in Death by Sexy – Eagles of Death Metal’s (EODM) frisky followup to 2004’s Peace Love Death Metal – Hughes and drummer-producer Joshua Homme aren’t into hamming it up as much as unrolling a sturdy repertoire in an effort to build an authentic career.
Peeling off with Hughes’s cackle, each one of the lucky number 13 tracks runs a red light. Guitar-noodling in the opening cut "I Want You so Hard (Boy’s Bad News)" and the quick hits on the snare and kick drum form an announcement to gather ’round for a proper rock ’n’ roll feeding.
While there isn’t a cover song to be found this time around, Hughes and Homme skilfully satiate the parched thirst of fans of the Cramps ("Chase the Devil") and Jon Spencer ("Keep Your Head Up"). They’ve invented an acoustic dance number, "Solid Gold," in which Hughes randomly commands "sweat!" Obviously, rock’s Lenny and Squiggy haven’t exactly disappeared – they just have more meat on them. The low-end grumble from a new bass player adds nicely to the thick buzz, too.
As expected, there is tons of sassy character coming from Homme’s drum kit and back-up mic, but Hughes commands the spotlight with his occasionally pervy and always self-aggrandizing cooing. No ketchup required to enjoy this meal – just a huge bib.
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