Album Preview: Foo Fighters, Wasting Light

Foo Fighters: 'Wasting Light' album cover. Photo / Supplied

Scott Kara give an idea of what to expect from the new Foo Fighters' album, Wasting Light, track by track:

Bridge Burning
Starting off with a hiss and a roar, and Grohl's shrieking opening line, "These are my famous last words ...", it's not surprising the Foo Fighters are going on tour with best mates Motorhead. The opener is a chugger and, initially, brutal, but it takes little time to settle into those big melodic sing-along choruses.

Rope
The first single is proof the Foo Fighters and producer Butch Vig like the same things, which in Grohl's words are, big guitars, sweet melodies, and sing-along rock anthems, but all with a bit of steely, mangled rawness thrown in near the end.

Dear Rosemary
The duelling duet between Grohl and Husker Du's Bob Mould is inspired and similar to that late great 80s band. The song itself is big, brash and powerful but brimming with melody.

White Limo
It sounds like the Pixies' Planet of Sound meets Motorhead in their prime with Grohl sneering and snapping and their feet firmly planted on an incessant trashy riff and not letting go. See the video with Lemmy on YouTube. It's a hoot.

Arlandria
This one starts like something that's dissonant enough to be off a Them Crooked Vultures album, before easing into a rock ballad chug. Although Arlandria might sound like a not very pretty girl's name, it's about being gobbled up and spat back out.

These Days
A gentle, meandering and simple tune that's easily the most singer-songwriter moment of the album, that is until the line "easy for you to say, your heart has never been broken ...", which Grohl delivers in his best husky rock voice.

Back and Forth
Apart from the distorted Beach Boys-style chorus the most noticeable element of this song is the moaning and heaving breakdown that's akin to Nevermind's Drain You refrain. It's only brief, but it's there.

A Matter of Time
More heavy mangled guitars to start before the lads pull their guitar straps tight and start playing like, well, the Beatles before morphing into Cheap Trick by way of the Cars. Grohl has never been afraid to wear his influences on his sleeve.

Miss the Misery
With its wailing harmonics, big distorted riffs and a title that could easily be misheard as "Mr Misery", this is the big hair metal anthem. Let me hear you sing, "oh oh oh...".

I Should Have Known
It starts out quiet and delicate, with strings and other instrumental accompaniments, before giving way to a rousing serenade. Grohl's old bandmate Krist Novoselic - pretty much a musical recluse since Nirvana's demise - is on accordion and plays some rupturing bass riffs.

Walk
Moves from a chest-beating ballad into a jaunty rock song that will no doubt turn up on a sports highlights show very soon.

-TimeOut