Foo Fighters, Gilford NH
Straight off the bat, the opening lines of track one, ‘Rescued‘ are “It came in a flash/It came out of nowhere/It happened so fast/And then it was over”, one can only assume that this is a reference to the sudden passing of their friend last year.
What follows is a collection of songs that primarily deal with the circumstances of grief, loss, and healing. Seeing as the bands very conception came from the loss of Grohl’s former bandmate, and cultural icon, Kurt Cobain, so to say that ‘But Here We Are‘ is not is an emotional milestone for Grohl, would be an understatement.
Feeling like a body of work that is very much divided, the top half of the album is high-energy, powerhouse, typical Foo’s blueprint, with numbers such as ‘Under You‘, the up-tempo melancholic, ‘Hearing Voices‘, and the albums title track. While the second half of the album is far more poignant, to say the least.
Bearing in mind, Grohl’s own Mother also passed since their last album, Dave is simply brimming with emotion, and it flows deep, with tracks such as ‘The Glass‘, and ‘Show Me How‘ before their longest track to date, ‘The Teacher‘, leads way to the gentle composition that is simply titled, ‘Rest‘.
‘But Here We Are‘ is very much what is expected from a Foo’s album, but with a veil of sadness offering shade, from what can only have been a devastating time for Grohl and his bandmates. Very much a ‘headphones‘ kind of album, ‘But Here We Are‘ does not see anything new with reference to the band expanding their sound, but despite that, it’s a perfect fit in the Foo Fighters discography jigsaw, and fans will, no doubt, be pleased with this latest offering.
‘But Here We Are‘ is out now. Order your copy here.
Oran O’Beirne
www.overdrive.ie 2023
