Queens of the Stone Age, Sampa the Great, Ex:Re, tears: The albums of the week in the sound check

Queens of the Stone Age: „Perfecth“ (Beggars)
The dark years with Josh Homme’s cancer, concert cancellations, escalating addiction problems and repeated allegations of intimate partner violence by his ex-wife Brody Dalle are clearly inscribed in Queens of the Stone Age’s ninth studio album.

“Perfecth” sounds a bit as if the band had recorded these new songs in the Paris catacombs where they last produced a live album and a film – namely muffled, faded, melancholy. There is something unfinished, improvised, exhausted about most of the songs; the band’s hypnotic power in their best moments only flashes through sporadically. It is music that seems like a desperate writhing, like a fight with an uncertain outcome. Torsten Groß, moderator

Sampa the Great: “No Zamrock” (Loma Vista)
In the 1970s, musicians in Zambia were inspired by acts like the Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix to combine Western rock and psychedelic with African rhythms, creating a whole new genre: Zamrock.

One of the most famous representatives is the band Witch, which still makes music and tours around the world today. One of the founding members at the time was George “Groovy Joe” Kunda, but he left before Witch achieved its big breakthrough.

Half a century later, his niece is now setting out to create a new genre herself: Sampa the Great confidently named her third album “Nu Zamrock”. The 33-year-old then talks to her uncle about what it was like to be a music pioneer and introduces her updated version of Zamrock, which she combines with hip-hop and soul. This all sounds like a lot of theoretical superstructure, but above all it’s a lot of fun. Inga Barthels, Tagesspiegel

Ex:Re: „Save As“ (4AD)
Elena Tonra, singer of the British indie folk band Daughter, didn’t actually plan on recording another solo album, but luckily she did: “Save As”, her second collection of fragile, ghostly trip-hop ballads that echo through the ether, searches for one’s own, tangible identity in a fleeting world on a long nighttime road trip. Bare, but comforting. Andreas Borcholte, Der Spiegel

Tears: “Life in a Cat” (Eklat)
What if a cat was a spy from outer space? Almost three years after their debut, solo artist Gwen Dolyn and Kraftklub guitarist Steffen Israel explore the world from an alien perspective on the successor. Musically, they sound just as earthy as on their predecessor, with even more pop, punk, NDW and big melodies. The catchy choruses can be quickly sung along with confidence in the lyrics, while deeper connections only become apparent with repeated listening.

The quickly passing 35 minutes are about the feeling of being strange, about shame, anger, intimacy and the longing for a fairer world. Fittingly, Dolyn’s voice also sounds more exposed than on the first album. The only remaining defense is to tell your own feelings through the eyes of a cat alien. Sandra Gern, freelance music journalist & presenter