Queens of the Stone Age have put out "Insignificant Other," the second song from Perfecth, the band's ninth studio album, which Matador Records releases on October 30. Josh Homme, who fronts the group, treats the track as the record's centerpiece.
The song is older than the album it sits on. It was captured at the tail end of the sessions for In Times New Roman, the 2023 record, on the last day of work, and the version that made it is the second of only two takes. Homme told SPIN the band recorded it at around midnight after the session was already finished, when he asked for one more thing before everyone packed away.
He called the arrangement out on the spot, which meant the five of them had to watch each other rather than a screen. "You're really listening and playing together," Homme said. Tempos drift, the tuning slips, and small mistakes stayed in. He told SPIN the record largely became about not believing you can correct anything, and that glossing something over does not stop you knowing it happened.
Homme hears a Rolling Stones cast to the track, though he said the band kept talking about a Tom Petty song, "You Got Lucky," while they worked on it. "There's a particular feeling that it's nighttime and the lights are low," he told SPIN, adding that the Stones' "Miss You" carries the same thing and that it ran through the whole album.
The announcement came with a video directed by Chapman Baehler that casts real children and pets belonging to the band. Perfecth had already surfaced in a bloody teaser and then a gruesome reveal clip before the title and date were confirmed. "Insignificant Other" follows "Easy Street," which features Nikki Lane. Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore play on the record alongside Homme.
Homme has turned up in the news away from the studio this summer too, from a $10,000 smoking fine he ignored in Detroit to his argument that arena rules exist to control fun. October 30 is the date to watch, and it sits on the release calendar with the rest of the autumn rock schedule.
The facts
- Perfecth is the ninth studio album by Queens of the Stone Age
- Matador Records releases Perfecth on October 30
- Insignificant Other follows Easy Street, which features Nikki Lane
- Homme says the take used was the second of only two
- The song dates from the end of the sessions for 2023's In Times New Roman
- Chapman Baehler directed the video, which stars children and pets of band members
- The lineup is Homme, Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore
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