Album review – Foo Fighters: But Here We Are

By DAN SOUTHALL

DAVE Grohl and his Foo Fighters need no introduction, having rocked massive stages for close to 30 years and churning out rock music of varying degrees and quality. What also doesn’t need revisiting is the tragic loss of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year in Columbia. But Here We Are is an obvious reaction to that pain, and the redemption they have always found in music. This album is perhaps the most personal one Grohl has written since the debut in 1995.

Opening strongly with the one-two punch of “Rescued” and “Under You” the band wear their hearts on their collective sleeves, proudly revelling in the heavier end of the musical spectrum, displaying a heartbreak that speaks to the fans united in their grief at the sudden loss of Hawkins.

Loss of loved ones is what this album is all about, explored in various fashion but always at its best when Grohl and the band lean into it, such as in the title track and, less so, on more reflective tracks like ‘The Glass’ or the lament for a lost parent ‘Hearing Voices’ that strikes pretty close to home for some of us listening. And the duet Dave shares with his daughter Violet on “Show Me How” is how the dreamy pop side of the band should sound, as it just bobs along and grooves in a manner that is reflective of the Foo Fighters’ early attempts to break up their sound.

The ebb and flow of the closing two tracks that take up over 15 minutes of the run time are a magnum opus of sorts. “The Teacher” is a reflection on the sudden passing of a loved one, and in some lyrical sections it sounds as though we are being let in on the last conversation Grohl had with his great mate Hawkins, as if it is all a dream. Then it all crashes into the reality of “Rest”, welcome relief and wrapping a bow neatly on the grieving undercurrent of the album.

I expected this album to be another chapter in the softer side of what Foo Fighters have explored on recent releases, a side I have openly slandered as boring. Instead, But Here We Are goes back to their roots. There is some of that more pop orientated rock, but more importantly Dave has rediscovered his love for, and the healing power of, a good riff.