Despite Dave Grohl’s smirk and bubbly personality, it’s easy to forget that his long-running rock group, the Foo Fighters, was initially a solo project born out of grief. The former Nirvana drummer made the debut of Foo Fighters’ self-titled debut in the fall of 1994 to fill the sudden and haunting silence months after bandmate Kurt Cobain died by suicide. – Recorded an album. His songs were intense yet melodic, and his sense of melody seemed as innate as his rhythmic prowess.
Grohl made a uniquely graceful transition from the back of the kit to the front, and over the next three decades, his easygoing charisma and main driving force have helped the Whos far past the alternative rock craze of the ’90s and into the present day. was able to survive until The last true mainstream powerhouse of the genre. At this point, the Foo Fighters have not only survived Nirvana, but Grohl has been making Foo Fighters records longer than Cobain has been alive.
Grohl eventually expanded The Whoth into a proper band, bringing in core members including explosive, ecstatic drummer Taylor Hawkins. After Hawkins’ untimely death last March at the age of 50, many have wondered how good a drummer he was as a drummer who played in a band with Grohl and didn’t want listeners to want Grohl himself playing the drums. He pointed out that he had to do it and expressed his condolences. But Hawkins was just as good, and the obvious deep bond they shared was one of the surest sources of energy for the band over the years.
The group continues to operate, but Hawkins’ first posthumous album, But Here We Are, is plagued by his absence and impact on his bandmates. “Sometimes you need someone, but sometimes you feel like you don’t have anyone,” sings lonely Grohl “under you” Melodic and thrash second song. (He also played drums on the recording.) On the cathartic, stadium-ready “Rescued,” he yells at Red, “Is this happening now?”
“But Here We Are” has a back-to-basics immediacy and intensity that the last few Foo Fighters albums have lacked. Not surprisingly for a group approaching their 30th anniversary, over the past decade they have seemed to pick on gimmicks and overarching concepts that distinguish one record from the next. there were. 2021’s Medicine at Midnight was an unforgettable foray into the world. Dance rock and funk groove inspired by the 80’s. (As a related piece, they also released a cheeky collection of Bee Gees covers.) While the songwriting on 2014’s “Sonic Highways” was a little stronger, that album still yokes the concept a little tighter. I felt too attached. Grohl’s documentary of the same name, explored in his series, takes the tunes of another city and pays tribute to its musical history.
The undercurrent that holds everything together on “But Here We Are” is raw emotion, not idea. Grohl’s melodies are as uplifting and hymn-like as they’ve sounded in years. His vocals are fresh, passionate, and heartfelt. “You have to let go of what you hold dear, or I fear it is impossible for me,” he sings. “Beyond Me” The track moves beyond the piano-driven whimsy of its opening to a haunting, distorted chorus.of soaring title track After layering intricate guitar work over a flurry of percussion, the chorus comes along, pushing everything into a tidal wave of sound. “I gave you my heart,” cried Grohl, gnashing his teeth at fate. “But we are here.”
As a lyricist, Grohl is no stranger to clichés and predictable rhyme patterns, a tendency that threatens to sink some of the album’s quieter, downtempo songs.Although it features lovely backing vocals from his 17-year-old daughter Violet, Hazy “tell me what to do” Grohl said, “Where are you now? Who can tell me how?”
“But Here We Are” is most vividly rendered in its heartbreaking closer “holiday.” Grohl must resist the urge to make him laugh, facing the sight of his friend “lying in his favorite clothes” at the wake, muttering quietly while playing a muted acoustic guitar. . Grohl sounds depressed and feeble. Then suddenly, he steps on the distortion pedal and the song blossoms with noises that shake his bones. This is the most fitting tribute to a raucous musician like Hawkins.
Foo Fighters
“But we are here”
(Roswell Records/RCA)
