The Foo Fighters ended the Sonic Highways World Tour on a sober note. After the tragedy in Paris, the band cancelled its remainder of shows out of respect for those who lost their lives. But fans of the last bastion of 2000s rock 'n' roll can't be too disappointed after news of a surprise release of their new EP titled “Saint Cecilia.”
The group decided to release the record for free (get it here) in light of the attacks. Before downloading the album, there is a letter from singer Dave Grohl on behalf of the band regarding the decision to give away the EP and an earlier letter about the concept behind the songs. This is a nice gesture, painting a frame for the listener to go into the project with the correct state of mind and to understand that the group is mindful of the world and its unfortunate issues.
The record kicks off with the title track, “Saint Cecilia.” Of the entire project, this song is the most predictable coming from the Foo Fighters — it sounds like it could have been recorded from snippets of previous efforts. Grohl sings over guitars that come in and out in while the drums never gallop into anything too aggressive. Surprisingly, this cut is unique in how much follows the standard compared to the experimentation on the rest of the record.
Blasting into a two-minute burner called “Sean,” the group shows off its punk roots. The guitars shred through the entirety of the song, only pulling back for a small refrain to let the gang-vocals shout the name after which the track is titled. There’s an especially beautiful moment after the first refrain where Grohl shouts, “You’ve been in the wings,” behind a dreamy blend of chords. The drums then pull back momentarily before diving into the main lick. Clocking in at barely over two minutes, the song starts to scratch an itch, but stops before satisfying.
Don’t worry — "Savior Breath” comes next and picks up the slack. This song is straight up Guns N’ Roses-inspired dirty blues. Keeping the pace from the last moment off “Sean,” the group sprints through a three-minute head banger that has a chorus serving as a slight break from the shredding across this entire song. Distorted shouting from Grohl and plentiful guitar solos really get the heart pounding and exemplifies how much energy the Foo Fighters shove into every moment along this cut. The song is probably the strongest writing as a whole on the EP.
The momentum immediately falls off a cliff into the hazy abyss of “Iron Rooster.” Constant humming sits in the background of this track as the vocal work attempts to softly caress the listener. The dreamy and shifting guitars combined with a lightly featured piano add to the lucid moment. This is the most sonically confusing song out of the project. Simply put, “Iron Rooster” doesn’t fit the rest of the EP’s momentum.
The band finishes on a strong note by slamming through another moment that embodies the identity of the band. “The Neverending Sigh” takes the familiar concept of background noise to start off the track. As the first guitar enters in, the tempo immediately hastens and plays to the group’s strengths. Slamming through some solid rock 'n' roll moments, Grohl philosophically croons that “No one lets everyone in.”
The song has an especially awesome post-chorus which elicits a comparison to previous hits like “Learn to Fly.” Grohl shouts his face off toward the heavens on top of the best riff in the entire record; it's a strong moment with which to end the record. The song fades out on a strong note, but leaves enough space that the group could have stayed in the moment and let the barely started solo finish.
Taking into account the context of this record, it’s amazing how much the group that deviated from its sonic identity. As a die-hard Foo Fighter fan, there's just enough experimentation here to get excited about more musical growth from this veteran five-piece.
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Reach the reporter at dloche@asu.edu or follow @DMLoche on Twitter.
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