Wasting Light [CD]

If heavy metal is a cheese sandwich, grunge is a crisp sandwich and punk rock is a turkey sandwich, then Foo Fighters have always been a turkey, cheese and crisp sandwich. They will forever be derided for not using any original ingredients, yet when you consider how instantly recognisable the Foo's sound is you have to wonder if all the comparisons miss the point. They make damn good sandwiches.

Wasting Light is not just more of the same, it's... well... more! More loud. More raw. More guitarists. More riffs. More pop. More catchy. More deep. More choruses. Dave Grohl has said that as soon as he found a big chorus he made it the bridge and wrote an even bigger chorus.

The important thing to know about Wasting Light as an album is that the writing itself seems to have received more attention to detail than anything Foo Fighters have produced in the last decade. In particular many of the songs on 2007's Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace felt underdeveloped, often content to hang around the same three or four chords. This is not the case here with Grohl and co regularly turning up with extra ingredients and crafting them perfectly into bigger and better songs.

'Bridge Burning' kicks the album screaming into life - quite literally. The opening 40 seconds is as good an album opening as you will ever hear and the rest of the song doesn't let up with machine-gun guitar in the verses and a chorus that shows the Foos still have one or two surprises up their sleeves.

'Rope' is the first single from the album and a particularly good example of how the three guitarists can combine so effectively without ever stepping on each other's feet or cluttering the sound.

'Dear Rosemary' is one of the Foo's more serious efforts - perhaps a distant cousin of 'Hey, Johnny Park!'- and has some great guitar work on the verse.

'White Limo' will instantly put long term fans in mind of 'Wattershed'. It's easily the most metal track on the album, or for that matter any Foo Fighters album. It is also one of most instantly likeable. If the first 40 seconds made you exclaim "Oh yes!", every second of White Limo will make you shout "Oh yes, oh yes, oh yeeeeeees!"

The opening to 'Arlandria' fools you into thinking that the relentless pace is set to continue, before pulling back. This is classic Foos quiet verse/loud chorus and screams 'next single' - not because it is commercial, but because it it just damn good. The chorus has a warmth and feel good factor reminiscent of 1999's 'There is Nothing Left to Lose' album. I defy you to listen to this song without a smile on your face.

'These Days' provides a welcome change of pace, though it doesn't quite venture into ballad territory, particularly since it still has a huge chorus. The tone of the guitars in the verses is superb and highlights the sonic difference that both the analogue recording and Butch Vig's production offers the record.

'Back and Forth' is another obvious candidate for the single charts. Foo Fighters manage to combine a chorus that is pure pop and catchy as hell with monster guitars and an interesting verse. It's going to get criticised by the music snobs, but it is every rock fans best hope of shoving the emos back in the draw marked 'tedious'.

'A Matter of Time' is not so much 'quiet bit/loud bit' as 'quiet bit, crescendo, massive tangent... NOW!" The album could have got a little stale at this stage, but thankfully enough attention has gone into it to keep the quality up. Just.

'Miss the Misery' is the least Foo-like track on the album at a first listen, though it still has that classic motif of borrowing dna from about a dozen different rock bands. I'm marking this one down as a potential grower. That is to say, it's not my favourite right now, but then neither was the underrated 'February Stars'.

The album's curve ball is 'I Should Have Known' - about a friend other than Mr. Cobain. You won't have heard another song like this on any previous Foos album and it will probably take you a couple of listens to get your head around, but this is Dave Grohl with his phaser set to heart-wrenching.

By contrast, 'Walk' flickers sweetly into life with its unapologetically hopeful message. It's juxtaposition with 'I Should Have Known' can be no coincidence. About two minutes in it kicks up another gear and like many of Foo Fighters album-closers, this one is definitely a grower.

I hate to throw around statements like "this is the best Foo Fighters album since...", but after just a few listens it's obvious that it is at least in the mix. There are two or three songs that I am as yet undecided upon, but as a Foo Fighters album it is right up there. It could easily be the follow up to any of the six previous albums - perhaps indicating that not only does it share it's dna with other great rock bands, but that we may even be looking at the next generation of little baby Foos.

Their debut album and even the magnificent 'The Colour and The Shape' were not game changers simply because Nirvana had already travelled that road. 'Wasting Light' could be, not because it brings any new ingredients to the table, but because those ingredients are so expertly combined that the soggy salad sandwich that is the current rock scene suddenly seems quite unpalatable in comparison.

This has been called, by some, the Foo Fighters return to form, but they never lost it..if anything they've just explored their talents deeper. With their 7th studio album, they've taken the best bits from their entire back catalogue, pushed their playing abilities to the edge, and held on tight.. This is a new revived band, and with Pat Smear back to make up a five-piece force to be reckoned with, and Butch Vig at the production helm with the 'back to basics' approach, it's given Wasting Light the music industries much needed kick up the ass.
I wont go into the ego-critics over-indulged detail as you've read it all before, but what I will say is Wasting Light truly rocks. Having said that, there are songs for everyone whose ever loved the Foos, from the post-Nirvana explosion of their debut, or to the more undestated, underrated 'Nothing left to Lose', it has a mixed bag, exorcising demons, burning bridges, and driving Limo's, it's the Foos having fun again.. This might not be groundbreaking, but when the Foo Fighters do it this good, like the saying goes, if it aint broke, dont fix it...just add nitro and let her go!!

Have been a Foo's fan for ages and ages so i was super exited to find out they were releasing a new album - I really wanted to like it, and i am not disappointed - but there is just something about it that doesn't quite capture the "charm" of the Foo Fighters.

Ok so "white limo" is just awesome, by far the best on the album, took me about 2 listens to really get into it but after that I was thoroughly convinced,
The whole song flies along- its brilliant, definitely one of my top ten Foo's songs ever.

"Dear Rosemary" is awesome aswell, really quite catchy.

"Arlandria" is in my opinion the second best on the album [after white limo] - The palm muted guitar leads so well into the choruses - then it has an awesome climax towards the end, with "fame fame go away, come again some other day" with the typical Foo Fighters build up/crescendo ending in a badass Dave Grohl scream - pretty awesome

"Bridges Burning" is a great way to kick the album off, it is catchy and loud and awesome!

Now for the "bad" bit

So those 4 are great, the Foo Fighters at their best. but then the rest don't quite live up to the same standard as other Foo songs.
Ok so the songs are still very good,

It's just the harder parts don't quite have that same "badass" feel to them, (think hey Johnny park, Free Me, Enough Space, White Limo)

And the comparatively 'softer' parts don't quite have that charming nature (think Big Me, See you, this is a call, My poor brain, Doll etc..)

"these days" is a little too mopey, abit (though it kills me to say it) 'dull' - it isnt as beautiful as the Foo's can get (think the whole acoustic In my honour), and it isnt as poppy and catchy as the Foos can get.

So though i like it a lot, each song isn't as consistently awesome as past albums have been,

"Degrading" to analogue seems a pretty good idea, It sounds so lovely, its perfectly produced

overall, it isn't "5 stars", but its still bloody good.