2023-06-02 15:52:35
No one will fall out of their chair to find that the ghost of Taylor Hawkins, who died suddenly in March 2022, haunts the new Foo Fighters album from cover to cover. The issue was rather whether the loss of their drummer would cut the momentum of Dave Grohl and his band or give them wings.
Fortunately, the second option prevails. Eleventh Foo album, But Here We Are is an admirable collection of ten songs of mourning which, from a strictly musical point of view, avoid self-pity.
Barely 14 months following the loss of Hawkins, bouncing back with what can be called the band’s best album since Wasting Light in 2011, is as unexpected as it is remarkable. It’s the Foo Fighters’ way of telling everyone it still hurts, but life goes on.
Or, to quote Félix Leclerc, death is great, it’s full of life inside.
Of life, there are from the first seconds. With a Dave Grohl who evokes the blow to the forehead he received when he learned of the death of his great friend (“it happened so fast, it came out of nowhere”), Rescued kicks off the album with a bang thanks to its muscular rock and unifying chorus tailor-made for arenas.
Photo by Scarlet Page courtesy of Sony Music
It is hardly surprising that it appears on the schedule of the first concerts of the Foo Fighters tour, which will stop at the Festival d’été de Québec, just like the next one, Under Youfrom the same mold and just as effective.
Broken heart
In contrast, the synth-pop melody of Hearing Voices, Nothing At All et Show Me Howin which Grohl is supported on vocals by her daughter Violet, display more subtleties in the composition and make measured use of the traditionally roaring guitars of the Foo Fighters.
Vulnerable and heartbroken, Dave Grohl, who also lost his mother Virginia in August 2022, offers a poignant ballad regarding his lost friendship on The Glasswhere he confides that he had a person he loved and just like that i have to live without him ».
Weak links? Let’s say the title track and Beyond Metwo pieces that blend into the decor and that we will not quickly forget.
The spirit of the 1990s
Praised in the bubbling 1990s for alternative rock, the Foo rediscover the spirit of the past in the final segment of the album.
First, for a good ten minutes, the epic The Teacherso named because Grohl’s mother was a teacher, draws on the ingredients that built the Foo Fighters sound by alternating between searing flights and moments of tranquility.
« Rest, you can rest now “, finally sings Dave Grohl to his friend Taylor Hawkins as a heartbreaking end point in the stripped Rest.
Photo courtesy of Sony Music
- But Here We Arean album by Foo Fighters: 4 stars.
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