If you’re anything like us, you reacted with glee when you heard last week that members of Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Queens of the Stone Age, and Off! were forming a supergroup and planning on releasing an eponymous debut album.
Well now there’s even more cause for mirth. The group have now unveiled their first single, ‘Staring Down the Dust’, featuring guest vocals from the one and only Mark Lanegan, frequent QOTSA collaborator and former Screaming Trees frontman.
As we reported last week, this incredible supergroup features Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron, Soundgarden bassist Ben Shepherd, contributing Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Alain Johannes, and Off! guitarist Dimitri Coats.
“This was the first song we recorded and we finished the rhythm track very quickly,” Cameron told Rolling Stone. “We all liked the sound and feel of the song, but once we heard Mark Lanegan’s vocals on it, he took it to another level completely.”
“So much music that influenced me came from Seattle,” added Coats. “The riffs Ben came up with for this one are heavy and twisted; not an obvious pocket for a singer to jump into.”
“We’re all fans of a broad spectrum of music,” Coats told Billboard back in June 2014. “It’s a little bit more laid-back than I would’ve thought, but in a good way. There’s some kind of heavy, bluesy moments and then there’s some really beautiful stuff, too.”
“It’s a little bit like Superunknown, that kind of era of Soundgarden, mixed with Alain’s kind of Stevie Wonder vibe. And they call me the secret weapon; I’m a little bit rough around the edges, but I have a lot of good ideas.”
