Rating: 4/5 stars

Foo Fighters’ new album “Concrete and Gold” comes three years after their previous release “Sonic Highways.” “Sonic Highways” was as creative an album as the recording method, which involved recording songs throughout the country. Despite this, the material on the album did not offer much to take away. For a band like the Foo Fighters that have been around for over two decades, this kind of thing happens from time to time.

That problem does not seem to exist with their newest album for lead man Dave Grohl (Vocals, Guitar), Chris Shiflett (Guitar), Pat Smear (Guitar), Nate Mendel (Bass), Taylor Hawkins (Drums, Lead Vocals on “Sunday Rain”) and newest official member Rami Jaffee (Keyboards).

The opening track “T-Shirt,” despite being 1:22 long, still manages to offer plenty, starting off with an eerie, whimsical mood before quickly erupting into a full-fledged thunderstorm of rock.
Following up is “Run,” which essentially follows the same method as the previous song with a softer beginning that works its way up to a louder, higher-energy tune.

“Making it Right,” a track that surprisingly features the talent of Justin Timberlake on backing vocals, changes up the pace of the album by adding a funky groove that definitely has a distinct Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque vibe to it.

The calmness of the opening chorus perfectly fits the song’s title, “The Sky is a Neighborhood,” as it carries listeners along for a peaceful ride. What is most remarkable about this track is how that feeling of peace remains with the listener throughout the song, despite the changes in tempo and the roar of Grohl’s vocals.

The next three tracks help further justify the band’s efforts of creativity, which inevitably becomes an overall theme of the album.

“La Dee Da” creates a personal break within the rest of the album, incorporating some interesting sound and experimenting with different vocal deliveries.

The album’s middle track, “Dirty Water,” also brings its own character to the table with a smooth, almost euphoric melody that finds room to flash some of the Foo Fighters’ signature rock-heavy sound.

Seventh track “Arrows” has a subtle but noticeable “Alandria” vibe to it. With strong guitar and chorus to match, it presents itself as the standout song of the album thus far.

Another theme that casts a strong presence throughout is the changing of pace, whether it be within or between songs. This remains the case between the seventh and eighth tracks as the latter “Happy Ever After (Zero Hour)” carries along a simplistic, relaxing tone.

The tone shifts back over to sonic as Taylor Hawkins steps up on vocals and rock legend Paul McCartney gets behind the drum kit for “Sunday Rain.” The result of this is another standout track.

“The Line” is one of those tracks that, while it may not be the best the album has to offer, it still plays a strong supporting role instead of being a filler track.

The album finally comes to a close with the title track, “Concrete and Gold,” which casts that eerie feeling with which the album started before fading out to the fuzzy tone of a power cord.

Overall, Grohl and company do an exceptional job of keeping listeners engaged which was a weak point of their previous album, “Sonic Highways.” The ambitiousness of this album is very reminiscent of that found on the band’s highly praised 2011 album, “Wasting Light.” It is a difficult album for Foo Fighters fans not to appreciate.

Photo provided by Raph_PH via flickr https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode

The Oswegonian did not remix, transform and build upon the photo for any purpose, even commercially.