Stone Temple Pilots
– Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
If Stone Temple Pilots had been unfairly written off as grunge tagalongs before, Tiny Music… Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop made it clear they were playing by their own rules. Gone were the thick, brooding riffs that marked their first two records—this was a kaleidoscopic left turn into glam, psych, and jazz-lounge weirdness, all while keeping their arena-sized hooks intact. It’s loose, sun-drenched, and swaggering, but there’s an undercurrent of chaos, like a beautiful car wreck unfolding in slow motion.

Beneath the snarling guitars and pounding rhythms, there’s a tension that keeps everything tight. It’s the sound of a band regaining their footing while standing dangerously close to the edge. The highs feel euphoric, the lows cut deep, and through it all, there’s an urgency that makes it impossible to ignore. If their earlier records defined their rise, No. 4 was proof they weren’t going anywhere without a fight.