Review: Queens of the Stone Age’s new aptly titled single “The Way You Used To Do”

Queens of the Stone Age recently released a new single, “The Way You Used To Do” from their upcoming album Villains (Aug. 25). I love it and hate it. And part of me is indifferent.

“The Way You Used To Do” is titled so perfectly it’s almost as if Queens of the Stone Age know it’s not as good as it could be. Sure, it’s catchy. I don’t hate it. It’s just… just… It’s just that: a catchy kind of song that’s good enough to use for background noise.

It’s good enough to be tolerable (get it at iTunes yourself), but not the kind of song that pulls me from whatever other thing I’m doing to listen.

I didn’t rush to Google to look up the lyrics. I haven’t sought out every soundbite from Josh Homme to tell me what it’s about.

The funny thing is, though, when I first heard it, I did like it, before I knew it was Queens of the Stone Age. (I know, I know… Josh Homme’s voice is Joshy … How did I not realize it? I don’t know. Keep reading.) I turned up the volume a smidge and nodded along and thrummed my steering wheel and thought to myself, “Hmm. This is a good summer song.”

But when I saw that it was QOTSA? I was immediately disappointed. Funny how the reputation of a band can skew your outlook like that, huh? And to be honest, it’s not even the band’s reputation. It’s the reputation of their last album …Like Clockwork (2013).

It’s an understandable phenomenon, when you reflect on that last album.  …Like Clockwork was a masterpiece; a thing every band strives to produce. “I Sat By The Ocean” is one of my favorite songs of all time. That album followed Josh Homme’s near-death experience that was the result of complications from a knee surgery. I don’t know what’s been going on in his life in the last four-ish years, but I’m guessing he didn’t have another near-death experience. So I’ll be curious to see where the inspiration came from, and what emotions they’ll be able to pull out of me this time around.

So, look, all I’m saying is that I have pretty high expectations for this new album. A catchy first single isn’t going to woo me, Josh Homme. But I won’t give up hope just yet. “The Way You Used To Do” is a good start, at the very least.

Next: Coldplay tackles the refugee crisis with new track ‘A L I E N S’

Look for Queens of the Stone Age’s new album, Villains, to be released Aug. 25. Come back then for a full review!