Queens of the Stone Age are back with their first fresh music in nearly two years. The band has released the new single “Easy Street” via Matador Records, marking its first original tune since 2023’s In Times New Roman…. Fans first got a taste of the track during last year’s Catacombs tour, where it quickly became a favorite ahead of its official studio release.
Produced by Josh Homme and bassist Michael Shuman, “Easy Street” embraces imperfection rather than polish. Built around acoustic guitar, psychedelic synths and an intentionally loose rhythm section, the song also features a guest vocal from Nikki Lane, whose gritty performance plays off Homme’s smoother lead. For now, it’s unclear if “Easy Street” is also intended for Queens’ next studio album.
The accompanying “Easy Street” video, directed by Tony Wolski and Christopher Gruse from a story conceived by Homme, follows the singer as he attempts to outrun a colorful cast of pursuers — including his own bandmates — before delivering a twist that celebrates the outsiders often overlooked.
“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 says. “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 continues, “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.”
The single arrives a year after QOTSA documented one of the most unconventional performances of their career. The band’s Alive in the Catacombs concert film captured Homme, Shuman, Troy Van Leeuwen, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore performing deep beneath the streets of Paris in the city’s famed Catacombs. Stripped of amplification and surrounded by the tunnels’ millions of human remains, the performance transformed songs from across the band’s catalog into stark, intimate arrangements, with Homme describing the project as years in the making.
Queens of the Stone Age has shows opening for System of a Down in London and Warsaw this week before returning home for a North American stadium run with Foo Fighters, starting Aug. 4 in Toronto. The band also recently announced its first Iceland performance since 2005, set for Oct. 24 at Reykjavík’s Laugardalshöll, with additional headline dates in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore expected to be announced soon.
