“Little Sister” by Queens of the Stone Age

"Little Sister" was the first single from Lullabies to Paralyze, Queens of the Stone Age's fourth album, first issued as a promo in December 2004 before it hit the shops in 2005. Josh Homme, Joey Castillo and Troy Van Leeuwen wrote it, and the band cut it live in the studio in one take, which explains why it sounds like it's about to jump the tracks.

Castillo's cowbell drives the party, clanking away like a factory alarm, and his drums lock into a lean, relentless stomp. Homme and Alain Johannes twist their guitars into a greasy, strutting riff, Van Leeuwen holds down the bass, and Homme sings with his usual sly croon, part come-on and part sneer. Joe Barresi produced it with Homme and mixed it, and they keep it dry and nasty, all swagger and no fat.

It's a lean slab of boogie that doesn't waste a second.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.