ARTIST: Foo Fighters
ALBUM TITLE: Wasting Light
RECORD LABEL: RCA
RELEASED: April 12, 2011

By Chris Kromphardt
Staff Writer, Justice Administrator

“These are my famous last words!” Dave Grohl howls on “Bridge Burning,” the opening track of the Foo Fighters latest album, Wasting Light. That declaration is, of course, untrue, but now that Mr. Grohl and company have your attention, they’re not about to relinquish it. The title Wasting Light suggests an urgent demand for your attention, and it suits, as this is one of the Foo Fighters’ most aggressively infectious albums in some time.

The Foo Fighters began a bit of a mellowing phase around the time of their double-album In Your Honor, which featured half rock songs along the lines of what you’d expect from them, and half more stripped-down, acoustic songs. The approach worked, particularly on songs like a duet with Norah Jones called “Virginia Moon” that showcased Grohl’s trademark growl reduced to barely a whisper. The Fighters’ next album, 2007’s Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, was a bit of a blend of the approaches on IYH, and while a solid effort, winning the Grammy for Best Rock Album and notching hits like “The Pretender” and “Long Road to Ruin,” it lacked the balls-to-the-wall, manic energy fans had come to expect. Fortunately, WL sees the Foo Fighters return the balls to where they belong: firmly on the wall from the word “go.”

While more of what fans like is always good, it’s also important for a band to grow. “Everlong” and “Learn to Fly” are awesome, but we don’t need those songs repeated ad nauseum until each new album sounds exactly like the previous ones. And the Foo Fighters, bless ‘em, have managed to broaden their sound just enough so that it’s fresh and new again. Probably the best example of this is the song “Arlandia,” where Grohl borrows just enough from Queens of the Stone Age frontman—and fellow Crooked Vulture—Josh Homme to embolden the track from a good song into one that wrenches in to your brain, and one that I think could enter the Foo Pantheon in time.

Presenting here a slew of tracks that instantly feel like old friends, the Foo Fighters have crafted another great album. The first single should effectively “Rope” (pun intended) fans back in after a four-year interim between albums, and they won’t be disappointed by the intensity they’ll find here. I sure wasn’t.

RATING: 8/10

Visit wastinglight.foofighters.com to listen to Wasting Light before it is released, on April 12.

Front page and interior photo by Steve Gullick. Courtesy of RCA.