Whatever the hell those hippie-ass weirdos did at Area 51, it seems the Biff Tannen Reality Gravitron power switch has been flipped off, because a flood of good news seems to be hitting all at once.
The Queen Vulture Joshua Homme has announced the (very) long awaited next two installments of the Desert Sessions series, to be released October 25th on Matador Records. Vol. 11 & 12 will mark the first revival of this musical adventure camp series in 16 years. Between 1997 and 2003, various incarnations of that group released a total of 10 albums, each one mired in secrecy and mythology, including drug-addled creative sessions in the desert and unbilled guests.
The press release reads: “The results are eight new songs that embody the legacy of freedom from expectations and inhibitions that stretches back to 1997, when Homme led a first retreat to the Joshua Tree desert. What began as a casual writing and recording session amongst friends—isolated from daily distractions and comforts—has since become a possibly infinite body of work. Now spanning 12 volumes over the course of two decades (and a total of two documented live performances), The Desert Sessions has featured some of music’s most cherished icons—past players have included Polly Harvey, Mark Lanegan, Josh Freese, Dean Ween, among many others—deliberately removing themselves from their comfort zones and working together to create some of their most relaxed yet challenging work.”
Entitled Arrivederci Despair and Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels, Vols. 11 & 12 were recorded over six days in Joshua Tree, California in December 2018 with a cast of players sexy enough for a new brand of lube. The main offenders include ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa, Scissor Sisters’ Jake Shears, Royal Blood’s Mike Kerr, Autolux’s Carla Azar, Primus’ Les Claypool, Chavez’s Matt Sweeney, British comedian and actor Matt Berry, Libby Grace, and Töôrnst Hülpft.
Covers and tracklist is below…
Tracklist:
Move Together (lead vocal: Billy F. Gibbons)
Noses in Roses Forever (lead vocal: Joshua Homme)
Far East for the Trees
If You Run (lead vocal: Libby Grace)
Crucifire (lead vocal: Mike Kerr)
Chic Tweetz (vocals: Töôrnst Hülpft, Matt Berry)
Something You Can’t See (lead vocal: Jake Shears)
Easier Said Than Done (lead vocal: Joshua Homme)
The magnificent Alain Johannes, who fans know from Queens of The Stone Age, Them Crooked Vultures, Eleven and much more, did an Antiquiet Session at his 11AD studio lair a few years back, and played “Making a Cross” from Desert Sessions 7&8:
