Queens of the Stone Age and its frontman Josh Homme have been in the news more for reasons other than music over the past few years, but the focus will return squarely to rock’n’roll this summer. The group’s first album in six years, In Times New Roman.., is due June 16 on Matador and is led by its first single “Emotion Sickness,” which is out now.
With its harmonized guitar squeals and winding, groovy vibe, “Emotion Sickness” splits the difference between the more lo-fi sound of QOTSA’s first two albums and the riff-driven flavor of 2017’s Villains, which debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.
“Baby don’t care for me / had to let her go,” Homme sings. “People come and go on the breeze for a whole life, possibly? / I don’t really know.” The album’s title is brought to life in a video teaser, which conjures the decadence and excess of ancient Italy with an ironic, modern twist, while the song names themselves include a bevy of puns and portmanteaus for good measure.
In Times New Roman.. was recorded and mixed at Homme’s Pink Duck studio, which he has since vacated, as well as Rick Rubin’s Shangri-La. It was produced by the band and mixed by Mark Rankin, who earned two Grammy nominations for his work on QOTSA’s 2013 album ...Like Clockwork. To pre-order the album in a variety of formats, click here.
QOTSA will play its first full show since 2018 on May 26 at the Sonic Temple festival in Columbus, Oh., and will spend most of the summer on tour in Europe.
Here is the track list for Queens of the Stone Age’s In Times New Roman..:
“Obscenery”
“Paper Machete”
“Negative Space”
“Time & Place”
“Made To Parade”
“Carnavoyeur”
“What the Peephole Say”
“Sicily”
“Emotion Sickness”
“Straight Jacket Fitting”
