Tuesday, May 3, 2011

There are lovely little gifts down at the Foo-tique.

On my way home from softball (a 25-0 win for the squad, by the way) this evening, the Current's weekly episode of Musicheads was airing. Jade chose the Foo Fighters' new album, Wasting Light to be opined and dissected.

I have spent the last two weeks or so with this album and every listen changes my opinion of it. My first run through, the opening few songs blew me away. I knew the guitars were going to be featured, but they really pull out your tongue to make a clear path down your throat. And I think it's a detriment to the album. The bass is practically non-existent and the usually beyond capable drumming of Taylor Hawkins takes not just a back seat, but is relegated to the spare row. Hell, it might even be stuffed in the stow-and-go section of our musical mini-van forgotten with all of the loose Cheetos and dried skin.

Lyrically, it is not the group's finest work. There's but one lyric that really stands out in my mind and it's probably the simplest line of the whole album. It comes from the track Dear Rosemary and is the last line. "You got a way/got a way/got a way from me/now get away/get away/get away from me." It's a simple line and not all that good by my admittance, but it stays with me for some reason. It's catchy, I suppose.

Following Dear Rosemary is an atrocity called, White Limo. Easily the worst song on the album and possibly the worst Foo Fighters song ever recorded in my opinion. Musically, it's adequate, but the singing is not Grohl's best effort. Instead of being his usual Foo-self, he seems to channel more of the Nirvana Bleach era, which just does not work for me. However, a pleasant surprise follows White Limo.

Arlandria to me is a song about missed chances to no fault of the narrator's. Perhaps it is a tale of regret or at least a case of the what could have beens and most likely an "I'll show you" anthem. "And when you said I couldn't give you enough/I started giving you up."

The rest of the album reverts to the Foo Fighters that I enjoy the most. Easily on par with the previous album Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace, but a great distance from the Colour and the Shape (my personal favorite).

As a whole, the album is good. I would grade it a B-. Butch Vig adds a steady element to the band's recording, which is something I have come to expect from him. While the albums he produces achieve excellence in sound quality, I feel they tend to run short on creativity in a diverse mix of sound. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I like to hear albums that have the commonalities among songs, but still push the envelope in each one to bring a new tone to an album from track to track.

Every song on Wasting Light seems to showcase one guitar riff. The first three songs especially feature this concept. I certainly don't have the ear to explain this, but it seems to me that the Foos took a sweet lick and changed a quarter note here or added a bend there to make it different. Again, this is not a bad thing, it's just a little detour from what I hoped this album would be about.

As I said, I give this effort a B- and can only say that if this album were a first offering from a new band, it would be highly praised. Considering it's a 7th or 8th album from a collective group of talented musicians, I can only say it's lacking. In what exactly, I'm unable to say at this point. It's worth a listen or two though and be sure to skip White Limo, at least anytime after the first listen.

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