For rock music purists, Foo Fighters is a band that is fashionable to look down upon. Since its emergence in the 1990s, helmed by drummer Dave Grohl of post-Nirvana fame, the alt-rock band became famous for its ear-worm riffs, catchy hooks and melodic rock. Detractors termed their music pop on steroids and basic rock, yet the band had cultivated a cross-genre popularity unrivalled by its peers. And it has remained so for over two decades.
The band’s latest album, Medicine at Midnight, is a return to basics (sort of) for Grohl. After the androgynous mess that was Sonic Highway (2014) and the relatively more coherent Concrete and Gold (2017), the latest offering is an unabashed return to the band’s pop roots. In a pre-release interview, Grohl said the album was inspired by David Bowie and 1970s dance music.
The nine-track set was written pre-pandemic and supposed to be released last year, for the band’s 25th anniversary, but Covid-19 played spoilsport. Many critics questioned why the album was not released nevertheless, but the reasons become clear once the listener gets two tracks into the collection. The songs are arena-rock at its finest, all funk, groove and massive infusions of the Grohlian energy. This was an album made to be performed live, before hordes of foot-stomping fans.
Medicine at Midnight beautifully blurs the line between disco and rock. Drummer Taylor Hawkins’s imprint is present in every song, but none more so than in the opening track, 'Making a Fire', which sets the tone for the album. Brimming with energy, Grohl lets his guitar wail, as he screams that he has “waited a lifetime to live”. The female backing track—a first for the band—is a fixture throughout, for the most part harmonising and texturing the songs beautifully.
The second track, 'Shame Shame', is the strangest Foo Fighters song yet. It is all guitar riffs and bass, slowly building up and making you expect an epic chorus, which does not quite come. 'Waiting for War' is the most quintessential Foo Fighters song of the album—a comfort food for old-school Grohl fans. There is punk rock and gospel in the soaring 'No Sons of Mine'.
To sum up, Medicine at Midnight is for the Foo Fighters fan, a foot-stomping, head-banging celebration of their 25 years of rock and roll. If you want introspective lyrics and intricate musicology, this album is not for you.