The only consistent thing about Foo Fighters' last few albums has been their inconsistency, culminating with 2005's 'In Your Honor,' two discs of ambition in search of songs to justify it.
'Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace' is less of a rethink than a reunion, namely with producer Gil Norton, who helmed 1997's 'The Colour and the Shape,' the Foos' finest full-length effort.
On the new disc, Norton and head Fighter Dave Grohl use the soft-loud template familiar to both - Norton from producing the Pixies, Grohl from drumming in Nirvana - and turn it into something epic, shifting the dynamic from punk-rock sneak attack to arena-rock comfort food.
Obviously, they're not reinventing the wheel here - rockers are consistently fist-pumping and ballads demand hoisted lighters. But done this well, familiarity breeds anything but contempt.
'The Pretender' is a fantastic opening cut, in the tradition of other previous Foo Fighter kick-offs such as 'This Is a Call' from the eponymous 1995 debut and 'All My Life' from 2002's 'One by One.' 'Let It Die' suggests that the Foos are better off combining acoustic and electric elements rather than separating them a la 'In Your Honor.'
'Long Road to Ruin' takes a Springsteen-like chorus for a spin around Puget Sound. 'Cheer Up, Boys (Your Make Up Is Running)' is bright, diamond-hard pop. 'Come Alive' and 'Home' show Grohl has mastered balladry, power and otherwise.
Few bands come back from a three-album slump with a disc as powerful as this. It's enough to give 'alternative rock' a good name. Almost.
Download this: 'The Pretender'
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