Released: 2011

Genres: Alternative Rock, Post-Grunge, Hard Rock

The Musiquarium’s Wasting Light Review Score: 8.5 out of 10

Despite plenty of their songs dominating the airwaves in the previous decade, as album experiences went, Foo Fighters’ past few projects have all had their share of filler, as well as front-loaded sequencing. It seems Dave Grohl has learnt his lesson though, as Wasting Light is the band’s most consistent and tight album since their early days.

Recorded with analogue equipment, Wasting Light has the Foos feeling more inspired and as efficient as ever, with a fairly dynamic tracklist that keeps things interesting. There is a healthy balance of heavy and light songs; for every Walk or These Days, you have a Bridge Burning or White Limo.

The metallic Bridge Burning introduces a new Foo Fighters, revitalized after taking a four year break since Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Rope has a really cool delay effect on its guitars and is a scorcher of a song. White Limo may just be the band’s heaviest song yet, showing that Grohl’s time in Queens of the Stone Age, Nirvana and hardcore punk bands was not lost on him. These Days and Walk are strong ballads and were both commercially-successful radio hits (the latter appearing in Marvel’s Thor film).

The deeper cuts towards the end of the album, like Back & Forth, A Matter of Time, Miss the Misery and I Should Have Known aren’t as memorable as the first half (which were mostly singles), but are all more interesting than typical Foo Fighters filler.

Wasting Light is Foo Fighters’ most essential work since their early trilogy of albums, and while it’s got a marginally weaker second half, it’s still a strong project from front to back.

Trivia: Wasting Light won Best Rock Album at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards.

For credit breakdowns and historic release details, view Foo Fighters on Discogs.

Back to the 2011 Album Reviews Guide or the Foo Fighters Reviews page.

Written by Brett Nippard