Review: 'The Way You Used to Do' (Queens of the Stone Age)

Queens of the Stone Age dropped some much-needed musical medicine this past Thursday with the debut of new single ‘The Way You Used to Do’. QOTSA's last effort '…Like Clockwork' was by far the most laid-back effort from the ever evolving Californian group. Frontman Josh Homme and his cohorts have channeled the likable pop-rock motif once again, but with a scruffy, 'fuck you' attitude.‘Villains’, the band's seventh studio album, is slated for release on August 25th, and quite interestingly the group have teamed up with the seemingly infallible Mark Ronson. The London DJ has a pungent stench of success about him these days, successfully cultivating the infuriatingly catchy ‘Uptown Funk’ with Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga’s Joanne LP. The collaboration is sure to raise some eyebrows and there has been the inevitable vociferously negative reaction online from a select few. However, only a fool wouldn’t get excited about the potential quality within the 9 tracks listed. ‘The Way You Used to Do’ is a rambunctious 4 minute combination of 50s influenced rock-and-roll coupled with bouncing pop-sensibilities. Ronson’s production mix is incomparable to the majority of his previous work, with the QOTSA material still proving to be as raw and scrappy as ever - it’s a beautiful, full-bodied sound, something that should alleviate the fears of any die-hard Queens fan. A teaser by definition is – “an advertising or promotional device intended to arouse interest or curiosity especially in something to follow” – and now we can update this outdated representation and replace it with "Queens of the Stone Ages’ new single ’The Way You Used to Do’”. Time will tell if this interesting power-trip of Homme/Ronson will create magic, but it has most definitely piqued my interest.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvyNyFXHj4k