Just to be clear, from the start, these guys weren’t overly serious in a musical sense. Eagles Of Death Metal was the brainchild of Jesse Hughes (Kyuss) and Josh Homme (Queens Of The Stone Age). Think along the lines of the spirit of the infamous Dead Kennedys and you are somewhat there. As the early 2000s went on, it was very clear that Rock Music in particular was becoming (in general) worse and worse, especially with the radio rock content. Gone were the 1990s when interesting bands such as Nirvana were constantly being played on mainstream radio. Instead, Rock Music seemed to have a slow and painful decline. This album, notably a strange fusion of Garage Rock and Rockabilly at its core, was designed to shake up the music scene of the time. This album also featured some notable guests on it as well. This is often seen as the duo’s best effort and is a noteworthy effort from these two guys, primarily recorded and produced by themselves. Let’s take a listen to this album, and we shall hear if it holds up today.

I Only Want You launches into it with a count-in, and launches into some music that is best classified as Weird Rock. The falsetto vocals and single coil-sounding guitars do sound excellent on their own, however. This is some of the more bizarre music you will hear in your lifetime. Jesse Hughes’s vocals sound interesting. This is good music, but it sounds bizarre in comparison to most other types of Rock Music, before and since. Still, this is a decent effort musical effort that makes the real Eagles look like relics of the past. There are a bunch of false endings throughout, and this is great, gnarly Garage Rock at its core. A good listen regardless, and very different.

Speaking In Tongues refers to a certain spiritual ability in Christianity, depending on whether you believe in Jesus or not. This begins with some looped drum loops fading in, followed by some dirty, Grungy guitars. This is quite catchy, and sounds unusual, once again. This is bizarre music to the nth degree and is fairly reminiscent of the Butthole Surfers similar forays into weirdness. Regardless, a very interesting listening experience. Jesse Hughes sounds like Talking Heads singer David Byrne a bit here, but like a drug-induced version of him. Josh Homme’s guitars sound suitably dirty and Grungy. This is an interesting song and is definitely worth your ears. A gloriously unusual yet interesting musical listening experience. Short as well, under three minutes in length. Great to hear nonetheless.

So Easy begins with a slightly slower tempo than before, with pounding drums and rusty-sounding guitars. This sounds like a million dollars for such a Garage band-styled tune, and it has falsetto vocals to match. The music and guitars sound simple, immediate and enjoyable. It sounds as though Fender Esquire guitars are being used for this music as well. Interesting, fresh and different sounding, this is pleasantly bizarre. A great take on Pop/Rock Music, with a slightly strange oddity about it. This music is perfect for those of you who like quirkiness in their guitar-based music. All in all, this is interesting and enjoyable music for what it is. This tune is a little repetitive, but the performances are very good, which overcomes the limitations of this music. It halts briefly, before launching back into the guitars and drums. It then halts again, before some spoken words are said, and this finishes with a completely different set of chords and drums, leading into the next tune. Very weird.

Flames Go Higher begins with a Nine Inch Nails-styled drum loop and awesome Garage Band-based guitars. This sounds quirky, yet very cool to listen to. Indeed, for a side project, this is quintessentially magnificent to hear and to listen to. This is very much unlike anything else in the history of music and is also worth listening to. The Fender Esquire-styled guitars here also add a real punch to the sounds and overall vibe. Welcome to the bizarre side of Rock Music, and sounding more interesting and consistent than The Velvet Underground ever did. A cool tune with some pseudo-surreal lyrics, this is great Road Trip music for the soul. The punchy beats and dirty guitars do sound excellent. A winner.

Bad Dream Mama begins with some dirty fuzz-laden guitar riffs on the right channel, which sound sweet. This enters into another totally strange tune that is again, well worth your ears. This is falsetto-laden Garage Punk band-styled music that, not only is really excellent but sounds unique on its own. The lyrics don’t make sense here, but then again, nor does the music. For the nonsensical nature of this music, this is a fantastic listen throughout. There are handclaps, weird guitar solos and a warped feel to the sounds throughout. Another false ending is here before this kickstarts back into action. A fade-out is here before some studio chatter and some randomly recorded drum rolls and guitars are here. Wacky.

English Girl continues from the last part of the previous song and enters into a heavy Fender Esquire-styled groove here. This sounds out there and oddball, but retains some Pop/Rock sensibilities to the music at hand. This is oddball music that retains a great deal of freshness and consistency throughout. This is simply, no-nonsense music for those of you who dig out there in terms of music and fashion. This is a song of lust and dancing and is less than three minutes long. It ends prematurely before drum rolls enter and a guitar solo is present. Nonsensical but enjoyable.

Stacks O’ Money begins with an acoustic/electric intro, before launching into another noisy and crazily out-there song. There is a definite groove to this song as well. On the surface, this may sound like a bunch of half-bothered jams but to be fair, this is a really clever form of music. The oddball nature of these songs will not be loved by all, but the music is of high quality. Captain Beefheart would be proud of this. In any case, another very enjoyable and euphoric tune about money, in particular. This sounds weirder than weird though. Another false ending is present, and this tune restarts and concludes with some loose sounds and a voice saying, “Do you like that?”

Midnight Creeper begins with some out-of-tune Country-esque licks, but intentionally so. A very weird take on a Country/Blues-styled piece of music, this sounds out there. This proves that you don’t need Hippie Psychedelia or a bunch of sound effects to make strange music. This is a different-sounding musical jam throughout. Again, this is good, although an acquired taste for many. It ends with some sustained chords and has some more studio chatter leading into the next tune.

Stuck In The Metal begins with pounding drum beats and guitar riffing galore. This is yet another interesting listen, but it resembles more of a proper song throughout. It sounds anthemic and catchy throughout and is a really Poppy piece of music from the brains behind Eagles Of Death Metal. It still has a very quirky nature to the music at hand, but sounds supercharged and interesting to listen to. Not bad for a side project by Jesse Hughes and Josh Homme. This Garage Band-styled Art Rock has another false ending, before returning to the song at hand. A clever, quirky and cool listen. The ending has some studio whispered chatter stating, “That was magic, unicorns!” before concluding.

Already Died begins with some woman-tone-styled (think Eric Clapton’s guitar sound in Cream and you are sort of there) guitar playing, before bass guitar and catchy drum beats enter. This sounds, again, quite good. This is possibly referencing the Buddhist concept of reincarnation, along with lyrics about relationships and feelings about that. In any case, this is another excellent listen that is both inspiring and different. A very, very good tune to listen to and enjoy. This is very unusual music, so much so that if you are looking for straightforward Pop/Rock Music, you may wish to look elsewhere. It ends with some distorted woman-tone guitar playing again (probably the back position on a Fender Esquire) to conclude.

Kiss The Devil begins with some different sounding production and launches into a Hardcore Punk-styled tune that meets Captain Beefheart. This is a parody tune, to be clear, but not in an absolutely hilarious way. Instead, it is the duo poking fun at those who have religious views. Different, yet cool, provided that you aren’t strictly into a monotheistic religion here. Its bizarre sound and sonic nature are cool and much appreciated throughout, all the same. A very different and interesting tune, although more of a parody tune than anything anti-religious or satanic. It ends with thrashy drums and weird guitar riffs, before wrapping up with more studio chatter.

Whorehoppin’ (Shit, Goddam) begins with a count-in and sounds pretty messed up initially until this song gets into a cool groove throughout. This is an artistic and very bizarre listen throughout. Not the best-sounding piece of music out there, however, from this album. Still, it doesn’t deviate from the originality and cleverness of the overall musical concept, it just doesn’t sound that good. A wah-wah guitar solo that sounds really random is here, and the music on this tune is actually quite awful compared to what has come before it. A nonsensical song about sex and with expletives plenty, this is junk music. Skip ahead if you wish, this is very ordinary. It has another false ending before concluding with its randomness. Beyond weird, and not very good. It ends with some studio chatter, leading into the next piece.

San Berdoo Sunburn is miles better than the previous track and has a good groove to it all. Again, this peculiarly weird music is designed for a long road trip of sorts. This is perfect for those of you who live in the southern areas of the USA and who like to go for a drive. A weird but enjoyable listening experience, there are some sweet harmonies throughout this tune. This is an interesting, stomp-styled listening experience. Admittedly, there is a try-hard attempt at humour on this album, but despite that, this is relatively enjoyable. The imagery and music are a great match for each other, however. Another false ending occurs, before continuing into the sunset with blazes of glory. This is a good stop/start tune with a slowed-down conclusion. Different.

Wastin’ My Time begins with some Country/Rockabilly styled guitar riffs that are distorted. This includes an irregular beat and an electric piano to match it all. Wacky and different, this music is euphoric for what it is. This is more of a textural listening experience but sounds very, very good indeed for what it is. Some weird slide guitar is present here, along with mock Country singing as well. This is exactly the sort of music one should hear if indeed, they have a lot of time to kill. It falls apart towards the end of the song, before restarting with some weird singing. This one is actually quite funny to listen to.

Miss Alissa is the final track from this album and is by far the most popular from it as well. It begins with sped-up electronically modified drumbeats, electric guitars galore and singing that is interesting. This is a bit weird, but a very wonderful tune to hear. A really cool and interesting song to listen to, this is bizarre to the nth degree. In any case, this music is amongst some of the weirdest stuff you will ever hear in your lifetime if you are a serious music listener. It has a good breakdown in the second half, with a well-played guitar solo section that sounds good. The singing returns, and this song concludes after two and a half minutes. It ends with some studio chatter and laughing.

Not everything that people intentionally do in the name of humour from the USA is funny. Sure, there have been some comedic greats throughout music and movie history from the United States that have definitely been loveable and memorable. The Dead Kennedys, as mentioned before, made hilarious music that generations of music lovers can hear today. However, this album, despite being great musically, falls flat with its overt nature of try-hard humour and out-there weirdness. Understandably, this is a leftfield concept in a musical way and one has to appreciate that. Sadly, the poor attempt at humour on these songs prevents this album from being an absolute classic. If you really want a good dose of USA humour, go watch Seinfeld rather than listen to this album. This is good musically but reeks of a pretentious attitude in many respects.

So close yet so far.

7/10