Album Review: ‘Wasting Light’ by the Foo Fighters

James Klentzman

Contributing Writer

Dave Grohl’s greatest talent in music is being able to collaborate with some of the best musicians in rock.

In the band’s seventh studio album “Wasting Light,” Grohl and company not only bring back Foo Fighter veteran Pat Smear for another go-around, but they play host to the talented Bob Mould (Hüsker Dü, Sugar) and the legendary Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic. It’s comforting to hear from Novoselic again, even if it’s an all-too-quick bassline.

The album itself isn’t anything new. The Foo Fighters aren’t branching out into new territory or reinventing the wheel. Since “One By One,” they’ve fit very comfortably in the arena rock role with which they’re most familiar. It’s not bad, by any stretch of the imagination, and let’s face it, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it.

There is still a noticeable attempt by the band to retrace their roots back to where they came from (a possible Smear influence). From recording the album in Grohl’s garage, to using analog tape instead of computers, and bringing back “Nevermind” producer Butch Vig, there’s a roughness in the sound that early Foo Fighters fans would appreciate, while still being approachable to newer fans not used to the rawness of their self-titled debut.

What’s noticeably lacking from this album are the guitar riff and melodic chorus that gets sucked into your head and refuses to leave. There aren’t any real earworms that get more and more people hooked on the band. Even with three guitars playing, it doesn’t try to overwhelm you like “In Your Honor” would. Grohl also sounds a lot more reserved in singing. With the exception of “Bridge Burning” and “White Limo” (which are two of the best songs on the record) Grohl and company don’t really seem to intend to fill the stadium with sound.

In the end, what makes this album better than their previous effort is how every song, flaws and all, cannot be considered filler. Every song is a great effort in its own right, and are unique enough to not just be copies of each other. “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace” suffered from not having many great songs, and “One By One” eventually sounded the same no matter what song you were listening to. It’s a testament to the band’s maturity and talent that they are able to create so many different yet solid songs that still retain that Foo Fighters feel to them.

“Bridge Burning” and “Rope” are the two hit songs that will be played to death on every modern rock station, and for good reason. They’re that good. “White Limo” is the band’s recreation of thrash punk and sounds like the first few seconds of a good bar brawl. “I Should Have Known” is Grohl’s version of a ballad, starting off soft and calm before kicking it back up into gear, and somehow manages to make an accordion sound like good music (thank Novoselic for that). “Back & Forth” is the best attempt in the album to come up with that melodic earworm, and will most likely be stuck in people’s heads for weeks. “Walk” is, quite simply, and awesome way to end an album. It would be an excellent song for Grohl to retire with, but thankfully there’s no sign he intends this to be his last.

Overall, “Wasting Light” is an excellent attempt by the Foo Fighters to go back to their earlier roots without sacrificing what they picked up along the way. “Wasting Light” is going to be on a lot of “Best of 2011” lists come December, and, like so many other albums by Grohl, will be a strong candidate for a few Grammys.

Grade: B