Foo Fighters - Wasting Light

You’re in. You’re out. We’re up. We’re down. Eight words to describe the ever-changing career of Foo Fighters. But over their roughly 17-year existence, all with a seemingly revolving door of band mates, producers and studios, one thing has remained constant—Dave Grohl’s dedication to producing the best music possible. Many times he has succeeded, and a few times he hasn’t, but the drive has always been there. And while there might not be anything remarkable about the band’s latest release, you can hear that behind every song is a guy who loves making music and hasn’t waned in his dedication to making that music sound as good as he can.

The seventh Foo Fighters studio album, Wasting Light was released in April to generally wide acclaim. As a lead up to the debut, the band released the first single, “Rope” in February and it reached #1 on Billboard’s Rock Chart. The album itself reached #1 on Billboard’s 200, a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, making it the first such honor for the band in the U.S. But what is it? What pushed this one through that threshold while still furling the brows of the old school crowd?

Perhaps the most notable thing about Wasting Light is that it doesn’t necessary sound like a new album. While Grohl and company continue to evolve from their grunge roots of the early 90s, when listening to Wasting Light you get the idea that this very well could have come out 10 years ago, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing…or an accident. Recorded in Grohl’s garage onto analog tape, the tunes don’t incorporate much in the way of cutting-edge musicianship but rather get back to the basics of a guy and his band doing what they love and what they do best.

Many albums can be picked apart, going song by song and digging deep into what it’s made of, but that seems inappropriate for Wasting Light. Yes, there are things that separate each song from the next, but there isn’t any aspect of any one song that makes it truly stand out above the others. Sure, each individual listener is sure to come up with his or her favorite, but the biggest accomplishment of this album is that it truly is 13 tracks strong.

If you like Tool, maybe you’ll dig the grinding opening track “Bridge Burning.” If you’re a Nirvana fan, you might notice something familiar in “I Should Have Known.” Maybe the radio-friendly “Walk” will catch your ear. Hell, you might even be surprised to find the Deadmau5 remix of “Rope” is topping the list, but really, if you like modern rock, you’ll probably like the whole damn thing.

Of course there are diehards out there who think Grohl didn’t take enough of a leap with this one or that he’s edging too close to the middle, but sometimes progress doesn’t always come in huge chunks nor does it need to. The ability to produce an album that delivers from start to finish is becoming a lost art. So to those naysayers I would suggest comparing the total project of Wasting Light to those of their favorites, even past Foo Fighters albums, and then re-evaluating. This isn’t to say that doing so will push Wasting Light to the top five all time list or anything, but it should give a new appreciation for the overall effort put forth. And if not, well, who knows what the future will bring. This is, after all, Foo Fighters we’re talking about.

Rating
Overall: 4/5
Originality: 3/5
Production: 3/5
Listenability: 5/5

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