It’s been a long, hard road for the members Queens of the Stone Age in various ways — from near-death experiences to cancer surgeries to on-stage drama — but the band have opted to take a stroll through “Easy Street” with their latest single. “Easy Street” is Queens’ first piece of new music since the release of 2023’s In Times New Roman… album. Though the studio version hit streamers today (July 14th), folks who caught the band through their acoustic-bolstered run of “Catacombs” tour dates over the past couple of years will be familiar with the gently-strummed song — it was premiered on-stage in 2025. Up front, the track pairs unplugged plucks and echo-slathered, rhumba-like clapping with Homme’s famously honeyed croon. It also finds him duetting alongside country singer Nikki Law — a reunion, as the Queens leader produced the latter’s 2022 full-length, Denim & Diamonds. They sing of off-kilter relationship dynamics (“You drive me crazy for sure, but I can do that myself”), mellowing out from your younger days’ wildest tendencies (“I’m not like that anymore, been dead a long time”), and striving to finding a calmer path along “Easy Street.” Their duet is complemented by a back-end bliss-out of eBow guitarmonizing. “It’s kind of a funny song. It’s like hitting your funny bone, where it’s funny because it hurts and it hurts because it’s funny. You’re serious, but it’s funny,” Homme explains in a statement. “We made it the way you’d make a demo. No click track, mistakes left in. It speeds up, it slows down, the claps aren’t great, but they’re not bad, and a bad clap adds this human thing you can’t fake.” He adds: “It’s not just about silliness. It’s about understanding the imperfection of your life. The song, like your life, is in the mistakes. Its imperfections are unbeatable.” A video for the song, which features Homme being chased along said “Easy Street” by a cowboy, a Juggalo, a mall santa and more (who may or may not look like the other members of QOTSA) is streaming up above, while the song itself is on streamers via Matador Records. Queens of the Stone Age have been touring Europe with System of a Down, and will amp things up later this summer on their North American tour with Foo Fighters. The first show is August 4th at Toronto, Ontario’s Rogers Stadium. You’ll find more date details here. In related news, Homme also provided back-ups on Mastodon’s new Marrow Deep single, “Snakes for Dinner.” The QOTSA member had previously sung on the band’s Blood Mountain epic “Colony of Birchmen” in 2006. He also popped up on Shania Twain’s latest single, “Faded Blue Jeans.”
Music Intelligence
2026-07-14