Word was from Grohl that this was the band’s heaviest rock album since God knows when… Then I heard the first single ‘Rope’ and thought, and openly declared “no way.” Funny thing is I was right and wrong, both at the same time! For a number of years now heavy rockers have led the way in combining heavy emotion, strong melody, and powerhouse vocals/instrumentals while keeping faith with their blessed genre. You should know who those bands are and if you don’t fuckin’ shame on you because you’ve been listening to the wrong bands, truly! So lesson number one: don’t judge an album by its single(s) especially if its from an act like Foo Fighters.

The album arrived late this morning and within the hour it was spitting out the first track ‘Bridge Burning’ at which point I thought ‘hell, Grohl was not talking with forked tongue!’ This is such a clever song as it builds, layer on layer, until Grohl’s voice eventually hits you between the eyes and leaves you wanting more of this ‘heavy stuff’. It has the best of everything - melody, lyrics, voice, instruments - and is a storming album opener. Next up is the first single ‘Rope’ which at first radio listen sounds like a typical FF pop-rocker, but it’s actually a lot weightier when listening to the CD through one’s own player. ‘Dear Rosemary’ is a bittersweet love song with relatively quiet verses and angrier choruses. ‘White Limo’ is an out-and-out speeding metal rocker and exemplifies the marvellous drumming that almost dominates the record. Like all great rock records there’s the quieter, contemplative moments such as the glorious ‘These Days’ and and the incredibly beautiful blues tinged ‘I Should Have Known’ with its distinctive layered guitar sounds. The last song, ‘Walk’, must go down as one of Grohl’s best compositions and is undoubtadly one of the best rock songs I’ve heard in several years. 

The album’s songs were recorded in Grohl’s garage (hell, genuine Garage Rock!) and it’s a bit of a surprise to me that it sounds so bloody good. Recording/production, mixing and mastering via Butch Vig, Alan Moulder, Emily Lazar and Joe LaPorta are of the highest order and a compelling reason why this album should be bought in its
CD or Vinyl versions to truly reveal the sounds therein…

So far in 2011 great rock records have been few and far between, so WASTING LIGHT is a very welcome release and perhaps a sign of better things to come in the next half of the year. It is indeed a heavy rock record but it also includes some stunning quieter moments, sonic diversity and consistently superb song-writing. This, I believe, is the Foo Fighters’ greatest achievement, a potential album of the year and absolutely essential listening .

5/5