First I will say that I, along with many I've talked to, believe the Grammys to be a joke and a popularity contest. That said, the very-respectable Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters absolutely pillaged the rock-focused Grammy awards - surprisingly, and perhaps unfairly, including the hard rock/metal award - with their latest release, "Wasting Light". Even though a lot of people seem to think the way I do about the Grammys, obviously it still gives the album some prestige. Do I think this album deserves this prestige?
TRACK-BY-TRACK FOLLOWS
The album opens with "Bridge Burning". The song abounds with catchy riffs and vocal melodies. As I expected from a band like Foo Fighters, it's not a complex song, but, to me, that's not at all a bad thing as long as it sounds good. There is, however, some progression around the choruses. This is very accessible stuff; very easy to listen to, and very catchy even upon the first listen. I did also find myself air-drumming. 9/10
Following "Bridge Burning" is "Ropes". The catchyness of this song doesn't really pick up as quickly as the opening track, but I started to really feel this song once it reached the first chorus. Grohl and the guys do have a thing for catchy, memorable choruses that I can imagine myself humming along to after listening. The song bursts into a lead around 3 minutes in before coming to a final chorus. 7.5/10
After "Ropes" is "Dear Rosemary". Again, the vocal melodies are very catchy. I think I'm going to be using the word "catchy" a lot throughout this review, but the melodies really are pretty memorable, at least for me. This track doesn't have that many surprises, but again it's just catchy. 8/10
After "Dear Rosemary" is "White Limo", which took the aforementioned hard rock/metal Grammy. I had actually heard this song before getting this album, out of curiosity of what could take the award over Mastodon and Megadeth. I can see why this song fell into that category pretty quickly; it features a decently heavy riff (at least, for this band), a strong beat, and atonal/screamed vocals in the verses, which definitely work for this song. After a short build-up around 3 minutes in, Grohl unleashes a full-blown scream, slightly masked by the weird effect on the atonal vocals, but it's powerful stuff. Myself being mostly a metalhead who prefers heavy, at this point I think this may be my favorite track on the album, although the opening "Bridge Burning" was very strong as well. 9/10
While "White Limo" may have raised the bar for the following tracks, "Arlandria" follows "White Limo". It starts with a pretty basic but, again, catchy chord progression, which it maintains for most of the song. This album has been very consistently strong so far! 7.75/10
Halfway into the album is "These Days". It starts with a clean intro. At a glance, this is actually, by a small margin, the longest track on the album, but really that isn't saying much, at only 4:59, but that's not at all a bad or unexpected thing. The guitars remain clean until the choruses. This has a strong beat as well, although the melodies, to me, aren't as instantly catchy as some of those preceding this track. This one may have to grow on me, or may just be one of those "extra" tracks, but this isn't bad. 7/10
After "These Days" is "Back and Forth". Though it starts sort of slow for me, song really picks up at the chorus, which, like most of the songs on this album before it, has a catchy vocal melody. The song doesn't have that many surprises, but again the chorus is pretty catchy. 7.5/10
Following "Back and Forth" is "A Matter Of Time". I found myself foot-tapping to the beat, but like "These Days" the melodies weren't really as catchy as those on most of the rest of the tracks on this album so far. 7/10
After "A Matter of Time" is "Miss The Misery". Like "Arlandria", it has a pretty simple but catchy (although somewhat less catchy than "Arlandria") chord progression. The vocal melodies pick up a bit more than on the last track, but don't really reach the catchyness of a lot of the rest of the album. A lead line before the final chorus definitely adds to the feeling of that moment. 7.25/10
The second-to-last track on the album is "I Should Have Known". The song starts and maintains a somewhat more mellow mood, with a memorable vocal melody. The song is actually sort of progressive, slowly building up, until the bass gets unusually, but satisfyingly loud at around 2:50. Shortly after, the vocals and guitar get somewhat more aggressive. It ends with what is apparently a violin line. 7.75/10
The final track on "Wasting Light" is "Walk". The song builds up until the distortion kicks in at around a minute in. Nodding to a lot of the other tracks on this album, the chorus has a very catchy vocal melody, and I again found myself nodding and foot-tapping to the beat once it kicked in. The ending builds on itself, until the album comes to a close. 8/10
END TRACK-BY-TRACK
This album is full of catchy, memorable melodies. While some of the tracks in the second half of the album lack the full-on catchyness of most of the first half, this is a very strong album, and one that was well worth about 50 minutes of my time, although I anticipate that my first listen will not at all be the last. I found myself nodding and foot-tapping for, actually, the majority of the album, even when the melodies weakened a bit. This album probably does deserve the prestige that the somewhat-controversial Grammys brought it. 8.25/10
Thanks for reading!
TL;DR:
Rating: 8.25/10
Personal Highlights: Bridge Burning, White Limo
Recommend: Maybe try, but probably buy
