Them Crooked Vultures

Them Crooked Vultures' hard rock pedigree can't help but inflate expectations from curious fans who won't be as disappointed by this debut as confused. The riddle of the band is intriguing: what happens when you cross the drummer from Nirvana (who's also the lead vocalist of the Foo Fighters) with the leader of Queens of the Stone Age (who founded Kyuss) and then throw in the bassist/keyboardist from Led Zeppelin (who also has a knack for arranging strings on many of your favourite songs)? The answer is alternately "Not much" or on some occasions, "Aerosmith." By and large, Josh Homme and Dave Grohl are clearly shitting themselves to be in a band with John Paul Jones, and many of their classic rock tunes serve as long preambles to some manner of Zeppelin-esque jam. Now, some of these workouts do sound kind of awesome, thanks to the players' proficiency, but there's not enough to sustain long-term interest.