What is it about Foo Fighters that makes them seem like superhero saviours of rock as well as just humble, funny everymen? They sell out arenas, make some of the most emotive and relatable rock right now and have only been seldom accused of selling out. Frontman Dave Grohl’s personality is that of a laid back but irreverent rocker who stays true to his grunge roots from his days as Nirvana’s drummer.
It all says that nothing is beyond the realm of possibility for Foo Fighters, considering they’ve created not just stellar albums in the past, but also worked to create a themed album like their last one, Sonic Highways, which featured guests from across the U.S. Three years later, they’re out with Concrete and Gold, an 11-track offering that retains its nostalgic rock warmth but expands their armoury of larger-than-life riffs.
The Led Zeppelin-esque intro to catch us, Foo Fighters launch the rollercoaster with ‘Run’, which begins wistful and breaks into a stomping, shrieking verse that falls back into an anthemic solo. There’s a familiar hard rock riff lining ‘Make It Right’, but you might just miss the vocal harmonies on the chorus, provided by surprise guest Justin Timberlake. If you wanted proof of just how huge pop producer Greg Kurstin has made the band sound, sample ‘Sky Is a Neighborhood’, a starry, catchy, anguished arena-ready, orchestral number.
A fuzzy bassline introduces us to the glorious ‘La Dee Da’, groovy to the hilt (with another surprise – saxophones), but the band – as it is known to do – leans back into lulling us with ‘Dirty Water’, a simple built-up jam that features Inara George on additional vocals. The ominous ‘Arrows’ may not sound like something too different for the Foos, but there’s the sobering ‘Happy Ever After (Zero Hour)’, a worried but accepted view of the future.
‘Sunday Rain’ opens with a drum beat, which is the one sign you get from the band about a collaborator. Featuring Paul McCartney behind the kit, the song is the Foos at their even-tempered best, even if it’s six minutes of it. There’s the frenzied alt rocker that’s ‘The Line’, but they choose to close with the druggy, hazy but heavy title track, one that shows that even if critics are just waiting for the Foo Fighters to let up and create something generic, there’s always excitement in store.
