·arcade Demented lullaby British: Queens of the Stone Age on the follow-up to 2002's breakthrough ing the catchy beating of a cowbell. they're Lullabies to Paralyze Songs for the Deaf, lending a hand to The album as a whole slithers its way QOTSA co-founder Josh Homme. toward a more eerie and nocturnal feel lnt****erscope Records* The CD inlay, decorated with goat with each song ending with a psyche- • rock heads and pentagrams, echoes the delic hidden track, like waking up from daunting, lurid mood of Lullabies to a bizarre nightmare. coming Kevin Yeh Paralyze. Certain songs really grab the While the band's signature sound Kasabian reviews editor listener by the horns. The sharp riffs in qualities were present on this album, "Someone's in the Wolf' dotted with QOTSA should not shy away from that Self-titled With the departure of bassist Nick strange laughing and creepy hissing creepy and haunting sound as much as epitomize the album. The tiptoeing of they did. They give the curious listeners **RCA ***Records Oliveri, Queens of the Stone Age releas- brit-pop es its fifth album filled with spooks, the piano in "Tangled up in Plaid" and a small peek into the world of ghoulish haunts and cowbells. The loss of a the heavy breathing that introduces the dreams, leaving them craving more. Michael Drohan bassist, however, does not equal a loss in spine-chilling harmonies of "Burn the staff writer quality. The band comes through using a Witch" crystallize the chilling sound Bottom Line: Queens of the Stone variety of instruments that provide for QOTSA is aiming for. Age reconvene for Lullabies to When was the last time a British seductive melodies and driving beats. Standing out from the rest of the Paralyze with a bolder, more daring rock band truly took over America? ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, Garbage's album are "Medication," with its conta- approach by experimenting and Coldplay's adult-contemporary brand Shirley Manson and The Distillers' gious melody and near pop-rock quali- exploring with strange and unusual of rock, while still good, doesn't Brody Daile all make guest appearances ty, and the single "Little Sister," featur- noises. count, and Oasis kind of fizzled out after their stellar (Whats the Story) Morning Glory? in the mid-90s. Kasabian realizes this trend and , recently made the haughty claim that it will be that next band from the United Kingdom to totally take over the States. It is an ambitious project and, frankly, one for which they may not be quite ready. Kasabian kicks off the their self- titled debut album with the spy-chase- sounding theme, "Club Foot," proba- bly the strongest track of the collec- tion. Later on, tracks like "Reason is Treason" and "Cutt Off' peak interest again, but the doldrums in between bring the album down a bit. There are some interesting, Radiohead-like throwaway sounds in the songs, but they get old after a few listens. Excluding the aforementioned three songs, Kasabian tries to settle into some sort of electronica-induced groove, but they largely just slow the album down, making the listener lose interest. So, is Kasabian poised to take over the American airwaves? Not right now. With a little more accessibility worked in and a few stronger crescen- dos resulting from the eternal chill-pill that is their sound, the band has poten- tial.

Bottom Line: The up-beat tracks sound great, but the mellowness of the rest gets tiring.

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