The Foo Fighters keep the hits coming


From the first track, you can tell even though the Foo Fighters have been around for 16 years, the band’s energy remains just as intact as singer Dave Grohl’s wavy mop of hair.

By the time you get to the end of the band’s new album, Wasting Light, it’s obvious making good rock music is what the  Foo Fighters does best. 

Boasting trademark Grohl screeches, seductive melodies, complex drum beats, engaging chords and one captivating guitar solo, Wasting Light has all the makings of a great Foo Fighters album and a successful rock CD.

The firecracker energy of “Bridge Burning” immediately reels you in. Throughout the album, more emotions and loud noises unfurl.

Though grounded in rock, the tracks in Wasting Light have the ability to woo pop enthusiasts and metal lovers and maybe even cheerleaders.

“Arlandria” starts off with a blast of energy, but unfortunately descends into a cheerleader-friendly singing of phrases like shame, shame go away / come again another day, which sticks in your head. The chorus’ intense screaming later in the song, however, save the song from becoming a completely pop tune.

The album keeps up this tone in “Back and Forth,” which shows a more playful Grohl and has a simple, short chorus.

Though the guitar chords reel you in, this track also has the ability to play over and over in your brain, almost to the point of annoyance.

Taken in a more light-hearted manner, though, the track harkens back to some of the band’s  previous albums and could serve as a welcome respite from the heavier tracks in the album.

These Days” has more of a folk feel at the beginning with softer vocals from Grohl. The track is a nice balance between a smoother, more thought-provoking and slow melody and a heart-wrenching one where Grohl’s frustration comes through loud and clear with his screaming.

At times, the track can feel like two separate songs mashed together, but it’s this technique that allows the few minutes to express the contradicting emotions.

The song evokes a bitterness similar to that found in the track “Best of You” from their 2005 album In Your Honor.

Both capture a range of emotion that makes it possible for anyone from a disheartened teenager to a tired divorcée to sing along, something the Foo Fighters have down.

The one track that will manage to win over almost any listener and leave an imprint is “I Should Have Known,” a love ballad about being broken-hearted.

The premise sounds cheesy and cliché, but the Foo Fighters’ delivery makes it anything but.

It’s the type of bluesy track you’d expect to be performed by a disgruntled man armed with a guitar inside a dingy saloon or burlesque club. And that’s exactly what you get, in all the right ways.

The song is simply produced, leaving Grohl’s voice and clean instrumentals to get the message across sans studio magic and auto-tune.

Though it does not jell with the expected Foo Fighters sound, the changes are positive and you can still hear cymbal crashes in the background sprinkled over Grohl’s emotion-loaded voice.

The drum gets the spotlight for a few moments, adding a welcome rhythm change.

The biggest star is still Grohl’s voice, which takes the worn expression no, I cannot forgive you yet and transforms it with layers of emotion communicated with various pitch changes.

This is not necessarily the album that defines the band, but it is a work that fits well into the chronology of Foo Fighters works. In other words, it’s another album to add to an already solid collection.

The guys manage to stay grounded in strong rock roots, while still speaking to almost every human emotion a listener can experience.

Wasting Light, as Grohl puts it in “Back & Forth” has a lot of nerve.

 

 

1 reply
  1. Tom
    Tom says:

    “The song is simply produced, leaving Grohl’s voice and clean instrumentals to get the message across sans studio magic and auto-tune.”

    They didn’t use computers, its all analog, done on tape in a garage. No studio magic or anything, just the Foos

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