New release: Foo Fighters- Wasting Light

One would be forgiven for having limited expectations for the new Foo Fighters cd "Wasting Light". After the interesting but ultimately failed experiment of 2005's "In Your Honor", a snoozer live acoustic record and 2007's near-miss "Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace", the band's longtime fans have reason to doubt. Sure, there were some great moments on those records, no question, but overall they seemed to fall a little flat.

Well I'm happy to report that Dave Grohl and Company have made the Foo Fighters record we've been waiting for. They're back, and none too soon. As has been documented elsewhere, "Wasting Light " was recorded in Grohl's garage. Bringing things back to basics it would seem. It worked. The album features the return of Foos guitarist (and former Germ) Pat Smear, with contributions from Krist Novoselic, Bob Mould and Fee Waybill (!). The album roars out of the speakers and bears its rock and roll heart on its sleeve in the best possible way.

All the strengths of the band are on display here. Take the opening numbers for example, "Bridge Burning" and "Rope", a solid one-two punch to begin the proceedings. There are lots of catchy melodies too, like the middle section of "These Days", "Back And Forth" and "A Matter Of Time", at least one of which is guaranteed to get stuck in your head. But it doesn't stop there. The Foos have a newly acquired groove on this album (most notably on "Dear Rosemary") that gives the sound a welcome fresh dash of paint. And, once again, working with Josh Homme pays off in the borderline QOTSA song "White Limo".

This is not to say that the CD is perfect. In the quest for immediacy this album has, some songs feel cut short before they have a chance to blossom. Others have a few too many stop/starts. There are a few of varying quality, but song for song it's stronger than the last two FF records combined.

"Wasting Light" is the CD that brings the Foo Fighters back to form. It is immediate, loud, fun, and a top notch pure rock record. The world needs more of those, and bless Dave Grohl for delivering one to us. 4 out of 5 Daves.