Wasting Light: Renewing Rock and Roll

 Foo Fighter's new album is full of 'Rock & Grohl'

2011 might definitely be the year that rock and roll makes a comeback. The familiar pop punk bands that are dominating the radio waves today are turning to more of a mature, stadium-rock-ready sound. However, the Foo Fighters have already found that sound, and made it theirs.

Their comeback album Wasting Light is possibly one of the single best albums I have listened to since my conception. In contrast to their past releases, the new album is no mild letdown at all. They took a different approach with this album; it was recorded in Dave Grohl’s garage on analog tape. He believed that this approach would cut back all of the “nonsense” that occurs in studios today; (drum sampling, pitch correction, etc) Wasting Light is pure Foo. The album was tracked sequentially and 90% of it was all one take. With analog tape being quite expensive, there is no room for mistakes.

The ‘Rock-and-Grohl’ seems to be pumping through each and every song on the release. With the energetic, unrealistic, opening track ‘Bridge Burning’, you can easily tell that this album might be the biggest they have released yet. Every song is as much as an anthem as the next. There are many moments where Grohl goes back to his roots; Nirvana. In ‘These Days’, you can hear a melody that would have been sang by none other than the late Kurt Cobain. There is a common theme that runs through the album; driving riffs and familiar hooks. This is done tastefully, and it definitely does not get old. There is not much more to say about the album, other than the fact that it is pure rock and roll. Grohl’s voice is greater than ever and his writing has hit an all-time high. Taylor Hawkins also plays as if Grohl is playing himself and it is just disgusting. 

 

I give the release a 500/5.

Favourite Tracks:

‘Bridge Burning’, ‘Rope’, ‘Arlandria’, ‘These Days’, and ‘Back and Forth’