It's all downhill from here...

“All it’s doing, really, is asking a question,” Josh [Homme] says. “And that is: ‘Do you remember why you started playing? Because there’s nobody out here to care, except you and me.’”

The Big Read – Josh Homme’s Desert Sessions: “I’m like a tour guide heading deep into the heart of bizarre”

Ending a 16-year hiatus since its last installment, the most mythical, longest running rock n roll mixtape odyssey in existence, Desert Sessions will return this October with the most ambitious entries yet in its expansive and elusive catalog: Vols. 11 & 12 (a/k/a respectively as ‘Arrivederci Despair’ and ‘Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels’) will be released October 25th. A limited edition first vinyl pressing will include a one of a kind custom mix & match body swap booklet. Exclusive merchandise bundles are available for pre-order now

Vols. 11 & 12 were recorded mostly in a six-day span in December 2018 at Rancho De La Luna studios in Joshua Tree, CA, with Queens of the Stone Age founder and Desert Sessions ringleader/producer Joshua Homme enlisting a cast of players including:

Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint) Jake Shears (Scissor Sisters) Mike Kerr (Royal Blood) Carla Azar (Autolux, Jack White) Les Claypool (Primus) Matt Sweeney Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows, Toast of London) Libby Grace Töôrnst Hülpft

The results are eight new songs that embody the legacy of freedom from expectations and inhibitions that stretches back to 1997, when Homme led a first retreat to the Joshua Tree desert. What began as a casual writing and recording session amongst friends—isolated from daily distractions and comforts—has since become a possibly infinite body of work. Now spanning 12 volumes over the course of two decades (and a total of two documented live performances), The Desert Sessions has featured some of music’s most cherished icons—past players have included Polly Harvey, Mark Lanegan, Josh Freese, Dean Ween, among many others—deliberately removing themselves from their comfort zones and working together to create some of their most relaxed yet challenging work.

The tracklist for Desert Sessions ‘Vols. 11 & 12’ (a/k/a ‘Arrivederci Despair’ and ‘Tightwads & Nitwits & Critics & Heels’) is:

Move Together (lead vocal: Billy F. Gibbons) Noses in Roses Forever (lead vocal: Joshua Homme) Far East for the Trees If You Run (lead vocal: Libby Grace) Crucifire (lead vocal: Mike Kerr) Chic Tweetz (vocals: Töôrnst Hülpft, Matt Berry) Something You Can’t See (lead vocal: Jake Shears) Easier Said Than Done (lead vocal: Joshua Homme)