It’s the Foo Fighters’ first album since drummer Taylor Hawkins’s death last year, and this is very much a tribute album to him. Dave and Taylor – both drummers – were also best friends. “Someone said I’ll never see your face again. Part of me just can’t believe it’s true. Pictures of us sharing songs and cigarettes. This is how I’ll always picture you.” from the album’s catchy second track, “Under You.”
Trying to cope with loss and grief is at this album’s core, and when I read all of the initial write-ups about it, I approached it with trepidation.
“Do I really, really want to handle a hard rock band like the Foo Fighters blasting through an album about death?”
But at just under 50 minutes, this ranks as being one of the Foo Fighters’ best albums (if not their finest). It is tight, there is no filler and is enjoyable throughout. Grohl resumes drumming duty, and they are here at their best – stadium rock interspersed with rock ballads with a few quiet moments.
I said to a few friends lately that Dave has a voice that is both confident and comforting, and that is, so, so illustrated in “But Here We Are.” He’s superb. From the blistering opener, “Rescued,” to its gentle closer, “Rest,” it takes you through Grohl’s emotional landscape, which is a deep, dark one, not surprisingly. (He also lost his mother last year. )
“Love and trust, life is just a game of luck.
All this time escaping us, until our time is through.“
On the gorgeous “Show Me How,” he is joined by his 17-year-old daughter Violet – initially singing to her, “I’ll take care of everything, from now on,” but then during the song, there is a switch and they sing the refrain together, and things shift at the very end. She sings it to him on her own. It shows. Grief travels across generations. One day, she’ll take care of him.
The album reeks of sadness – take “Hearing Voices,” a fairly lightweight but pleasant enough rocker: “I’ve been hearing voices, None of them arе you,” which finishes with Dave singing over a simple acoustic guitar. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a song about death – it could simply be about a broken relationship (“Speak to me, my love.“).
“The Glass” is one of the album’s best tracks:
“I had a vision of you, and just like that, I was left to live without it, left to live without it. Waitin’ on this side of the glass.”
It’s not even really rock… it’s just Dave.
The true rock fest “Nothing at All” unleashes Dave’s mindset: “I’ll get by, or maybe I won’t. I can lie and say that I don’t waste my time. Lately, I know It’s everythin’ or nothin’ at all.“
“The Teacher” is a 10-minute sprawl which I love. Draw your comparisons of Queen here, please. “You showed me how to grieve but never showed me how to say goodbye.” As read, this is a track of Dave, for once, showing us how hard it is to be Dave.
Dave Grohl makes his grief clear and abundant in “But Here We Are.” It’s such a shame he and his bandmates had to endure what they did to produce this album which may perhaps now show they’ve moved on. Since this album was made, they now have a new drummer, Josh Freese. Time moves on.
But despite it all, I never felt sad listening to this album. At times, it feels upbeat and strangely joyous to listen to. Hearing Dave’s rolling drum licks at the end of the title track, for instance, made my ears prick up. It’s practically cathartic.
As the beautiful “Rest” finishes:
“Rest, you can rest now.”
Taylor Hawkins wasn’t just a bandmate to Dave Grohl. He was his soulmate. This album so very much shows it.
It’s a hard-driving but lovely piece of alt-rock. It’s great to hear them again.
8.5/10
Chris Garrod, June 9, 2023
