Queens Of The Stone Age - Little Sister (Polydor)

You've got to give it to Queens' main man Josh Homme. Possibly because if you didn't you may end up having your arse handed to you on a plate, but also because throughout side projects (Desert Sessions, Eagles Of Death Metal) and inter-band strife (the Queens losing Dave Grohl, Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan as core members), he's kept his quality control remarkably high.

With no fuss, no mess and no clutter, Little Sister keeps the standard up, reintroducing us to the simple, knees-in-the-dirt fun of having your ears beaten senseless by heavier-than-thou guitars, sledgehammer drumming and a chorus so catchy it's been listed by the WHO.

It's the soundtrack to a tequila-fuelled poker game in a backwater casino with a bunch of desperados: Fun, sleazy, disconcerting and entrenched with an undercurrent of violence. Sure, it's all smiles and laughs now, but it wouldn't take much for the whole thing to descend into broken bones and bloodshed. The naysayers may claim it bares more than a passing resemblance to No One Knows, but, come on - who's gonna make the music that sounds like the best time you've never had if the Queens don't? They've been away too long.