Album Review: Foo Fighters – Concrete & Gold
2 min read
There can be no denying the cultural significance of the Foo Fighters over the last 20 years, who have been at the forefront of rock n roll since many can remember. Concrete & Gold is their ninth studio outing, and sees a band still making headway for their now classically iconic sound.
T-Shirt opens and sets the tone for much of the record, gradually rousing rock tunes that will grace arenas the world over. Foo Fighters have reached an interesting point in their career, where even though their sonic progression has tailed off somewhat – fans will still lap up their every release. That said, Run provides an early highlight that will delight even the non-die-hard fans amongst us. The growl of Dave Grohl echoes around Taylor Hawkins chaotic percussion to give the illusion of all out speed and as the song climaxes, you may find yourself feeling as though you yourself have run a marathon.
La Dee Da shows that the Foos still have space to explore within their well exercised formula, with the jaunty arrangement and intense aggression in the vocal turning back the clock to a more cutting edge period. It’s the least blasé of songs, and packs a sucker punch so delightfully jarring. If this was the knock out, then Dirty Water is the soothing concussion that follows. Recalling the Learn To Fly era of more acoustic focused tracks, the Foos take a little trip down memory lane.
Sadly the more exciting moments don’t continue for much longer, with The Line and the album’s title track both sticking to that age old Foos formula of big drums and singalong choruses with lots of emotive screaming. There is still a demand for the Foos, but for those more casual fans the lack of innovation begins to grow tiresome very quickly here. Nine albums is a huge undertaking for any band, but on this occasion the Foos should have quit whilst they were ahead.
