ARTIST: Foo Fighters
ALBUM: Wasting Light
LABEL: RCA Records
RELEASE DATE: April 12, 2011
Back to the Basics
Photo by Thomas Rabsch
Written by Katie J. Norris
Let down your hair and give yourself a headache; it’s time for some good, upbeat rock and roll! Dave Grohl is once again a non-stop, song-making machine. This is the Foo Fighters’ 7th album entitled Wasting Light. I neglect to say ‘studio album’ because they opted to record everything, not in the bands’ Studio 606, but in Grohl’s garage using only analogue equipment until post-mastering. Grohl states that he wanted to get back to the basics with this album, which echoes true in lyrics like “Learning to walk again…” near the end of the album in the catchy, passionate song “Walk.” Butch Vig, who produced Nirvana’s Nevermind, returns as producer for Wasting Light, doing a fantastic job, since it’s near impossible to detect any garage-type imperfections. Instead, the analogue equipment makes the sound feel genuine and gives the album a personal, warm feeling.
Foo Fighter fans would be interested to note that Pat Smear, who has toured with them since 2006, and recorded guitar for this album, is now an official member. Guest appearances include Bob Mould on “Dear Rosemary” and Krist Novoselic playing bass and accordion on “I Should Have Known.” Each song, from the opening thrasher, “Bridge Burning” and subsequent hit, “Rope,” to the pop-injected closer, “Better Off,” seems to be packed with as many hooks as possible. Though that might seem to be too much, this turns out to be a good thing. Despite the three songs in one feel, it keeps the energy creates some solid cadences. It’s raw, alternative rock, but far from the generic noise-in-the-same-key scenario that sometimes accompanies the heavy rock genre. The album is like a popular energy drink with a jolt of vitamins: it starts with an uncontrollable energy in the form of a hard rock band, and then dances around with upbeat melodies, serving up lyrics as brain food.
The lyrics are a beast of their own; well plotted, witty, and delivered in a diverse fit of passion. In the meaningful song, “Arlandria,” Grohl sings, “Ain’t that the way it always starts/ a simple round of conversation/ became a shameful equation/ I flipped station to station/ Hey, don’t go and turn the other way/ don’t say there’s nothing more to say.” Cleverly, the title of the album can only be found hidden in the lyrics of the chorus in “Miss the Misery”; “Don’t change your mind/You’re wasting light.”
This is a real success for the Foo Fighters, being their first album to land number 1 on the U.S. Billboard charts. It also scored high on international charts as well and marked their second highest first-week sales of all their seven albums. The band released Wasting Light and a deluxe edition, which adds a remix of “Rope” and the catchy, pop track “Better Off.” It also includes the “White Limo” music video and a performance video of “Walk,” making it the far better purchasing option. Their tour kicks off in May and runs through August.