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There's just something inherently cool about a guy who can stand in his own garage and talk about how bad-ass his band's new album is while behind him sits a pink bicycle with training wheels.
The bicycle, of course, belongs to his daughter and the garage is where he and the Foo Fighters set about recording their brand-new album, Wasting Light with legendary producer Butch Vig (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, etc.).
It is that low-budget DIY aesthetic that drives this new album, proving that while Foo Fighters may very well be entering their third decade, the venerable rock act has not lost a step in keeping up with their contemporaries.
Anyone expecting more laid-back Tom Petty-esque tunes like "Wheels" will be greatly disappointed. Truth be told, Wasting Light is not the creation of a band resting on their laurels, but, rather, one that seems to have a lot to prove.
Album opener "Bridge Burning" comes charging out of the gate like a stallion, intent on throwing one hook after the other at the wall to see what sticks.
"Rope" continues the distortion-filled melodic onslaught in fine fashion. If there is a any justice in this world, this tune is one that will be blasting out of radio all summer long. That is, if anyone still listens to the radio.
Oh, that all mid-tempo ballads should have the rock-solid clackers of a tune like "Dear Rosemary", which marries the band's love for 70's soft rock guilty pleasures to a massive Foo-style modern rock hook.
"White Limo" out-riffs just about any current metal band short of Motorhead. This, of course, is partially due to the fact that Motorhead's Lemmy guests on the track. Can you imagine living next door to a garage where such musical demons are being exorcized, all the while driving down the property values?
"Arlandria" builds from a lone guitar and vocal to a soaring, wistful chorus seemingly still pining for someone for whom everything is never enough.
One of the album's finest moments comes in the form of "These Days"; a song that shows the Foos perfectly capable of adding new colors to their musical palette and breaking some exiting new ground in the process. While we are not privy to liner notes, we are unsure if it is Grohl who sings the opening verse. If it is him, we award the man 50 bonus points for a decidedly heartfelt and soulful performance that soon leads into one of his trademark primal scream choruses. Vig's tasteful production on this track makes it easily one of the most unique tracks the Foos have ever cut.
"Back And Forth" is what we call a "summer car jam radio song"; a fist-pumping ear worm rocker that recalls "Dream Police"-era Cheap Trick, so good it can make a fifteen year-old kid long for the good old days of '79.
"A Matter Of Time" is more of the same crunchy, chugging guitars - albeit a tad more introspective on this go 'round.
Look up "deep cut" in the dictionary and it will play you "Miss The Misery"; a tune that is the musical equivalent of a utility infielder. They might not hit many homers, but they add a little more backbone to an album full of heavy hitters.
"I Should Have Known" is an atmospheric tour de force that sees Grohl unite on record with Nirvana band mate Krist Novaselic, who adds bass and accordion on the track.
Album ending "Walk" starts out with a chiming guitar lick swiped from, of all songs, Tal Bachman's "She's So High". The difference, of course, is that if Bachman wrote tunes like this, he'd be more than the answer to a trivia question.
Add it all up and what you have is the most mature, cohesive, and consistent album of the Foo Fighters' career...the best part is that it's just in time for summer, providing the soundtrack for what will most certainly be the good new days.
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