Queens of the Stone Age, "If I Had A Tail"
There were six years between the majestic, jagged Era Vulgaris and the return album ...Like Clockwork, and that time was apparently spent with Homme thinking about bringing things back to the turn of the millenium. To my ears, this album sounds more like Songs for the Deaf than anything else, which is not a bad thing at all. It took a little bit for the album to grow on me, and while I'm still not sure I'd place it at the top of their pile, it's a fine album from one of the best rock bands around.
Robbie Hill's Family Affair, "I Just Want To Be (Like Myself)"
This comes to us from the excellent Wheedle's Groove compilation, which we've had a few tracks from. I don't know much about these songs, but there are some righteous grooves going on here.
Aluk Todolo, "Burial Ground"
Somewhere between drone, krautrock, and black metal sits France's Aluk Todolo, about whom I know nothing other than what I can hear on their albums. I want to say I first encountered them through the Amoeba Music newsletter, which highlights all kinds of left-field stuff. This kind of trance-y kind of thing can be really nice to listen to in the right mood, and I've picked up a couple albums from them just for when that mood hits me.
Game Theory, "Not Beacuse You Can"
Almost sounds like this is going to continue in the same vein as the previous song, doesn't it? But no, a hard turn into the excellent, eliptical rock of Game Theory. You can hear echoes of a bunch of following bands here. There are bits of Sebadoh here, or maybe Dinosaur Jr's poppier moments (which, I suppose, are related).
Metz, "Cellophane"
Noise rock out of Toronto, Metz usually manage to make things sound relatively tuneful for this sort of music. But there's a fine noisy solo here that really shows their stripes, beyond all the dialed up fuzz.