The Foo Fighters new album “Medicine at Midnight” has a much different sound than their usual rock music.
The album has nine songs, which is shorter than most of their previous albums, and the songs were mostly more upbeat, and less guitar-heavy.
It starts out with “Making a Fire,” which has a different sound right from the beginning of the song. Lead singer Dave Grohl really helps give it a classic Foo Fighters sound, making it definitely was not one of my favorites by them, especially when it came to the chorus.
The “ooo”’s and “nana”’s during the chorus were just bad and didn’t fit with the sound of the band. Even though this album is meant to be less “rock-like,” it sounded bad with the song. Grohl’s vocals are definitely its redeeming factor.
“Shame Shame” is next, and I love this one. The bassline really draws me in, especially because it’s simple but attention grabbing. Being a bass player myself, the bassline is easy to learn, which is why I like it so much.
This song is a little bit slower, but the lyrics and sound fit together perfectly. About 15 seconds before the 3-minute mark has a really good guitar in the background, definitely has a classic Foo Fighters sound.
The third track, “Cloudspotter,” is a bit different, but in one of the best ways possible. When I heard the guitar in the beginning, I immediately knew it would be a good song.
The women’s voice featured is unusual for the band, but sounded great. It fit super well and really added a new dimension to the music. The chorus reminds me of their past albums, with a nice, loud rock sound. The entire song just really stood out to me and I couldn’t hear a single thing that was bad about it.
The lyrics in the fourth song, “Waiting on a War,” were easy for a listener to connect with. Even though it was a bit slower, it still had a typical Foo Fighters sound. The instrumentals in the background had some string instruments that added an element of musicality, which stood out to me a lot. It was definitely unexpected, but a nice touch. During the last minute or so it got a little bit faster and louder, as a lot of their songs do. It reminded me of their song “Walk” with the development of sound throughout the song. It’s definitely one of my favorites on the album.
In the middle of the album, “Medicine at Midnight” comes on. I really did not enjoy this song. Albeit not awful, it was at the bottom of the list for this album. It didn’t sound much like them, and the song was very simple in general. There’s not much I have to say about it, nothing stood out to me. Grohl’s voice was the only thing that saved the song.
It was relieving to hear “No Son of Mine” after the abomination that is “Medicine at Midnight”. The guitar at the beginning sounded good with earbuds in. The sound switches between ears which shocked me but I loved it. Grohl’s voice fit the song perfectly. The overall sound of the song seemed like an overwhelming feeling of anger. It felt like emotional release, and Grohl’s voice helped to add to the aggressive tone. About two minutes through the song there’s a bit of a guitar solo which I enjoyed a lot. The chorus, and whole song overall, was extremely enjoyable and definitely restored my faith in the album after the last song.
“Holding Poison” was kind of an iffy song for me. The song was quiet in the first few seconds, which I didn’t like, but the music and vocals that came right after were really nice. The pre-chorus and chorus were groovy. However the song went on a little bit too long for me. The bassline and rhythm were really catchy as well. It wasn’t their best song, but not their worst.
My favorite song on the album, “Chasing Birds”, was unlike the rest of the album. It was a slow song, but I resonated with the lyrics a lot and it made me a bit sad as I was listening. The longer the song played, the more it felt like a cry for help or pure betrayal. It had a consistent style throughout the song, even when it got a little bit louder in the last minute or so. It only introduced some guitar in the background, which made it more emotional. This song holds a special place in my heart already.
The closing song on the album, “Love Dies Young”, fit well as the last song. It sums up the album pretty well. It was an upbeat song, but I related it to the last song in a way. It sounded like it was trying to cover up the anger and betrayal from the last song with fake happiness. It had a good background sound and style. The style changed around two minutes through, but I liked that part. It made the album less repetitive and more enjoyable. Just like the song before it, it feels like somebody is trying to make something good from a bad situation. It was a good song, but almost a little too upbeat for the Foo’s.
Overall, this album was a success. It added a new element to their music style and showed they can master a lot of different sounds. It’s refreshing to see that a band that has been around for so long is still making original and good sounding music.