How the mighty would fall and then recover with a career-best effort, decades after their first. Foo Fighters has comfortably prodded the dad rock fundamentals, but now has a nostalgia factor for those sat in the back of a Nissan, wondering how long ever really was. Forty minutes of reactive work from Dave Grohl, whose response to the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain was to evolve. It’s an appropriate response. Grief travels in many different forms and for Foo Fighters, the self-titled debut is a place for Grohl to continue kindling his creative spirit. He would come to define another era of rock and then be left behind by its further evolutions. But for a time, he was at the pinnacle of rock and roll power, and this self-titled album proves it. Foo Fighters may end up better remembered for Everlong and My Hero, but the consistency found on this first record is far more valuable than the hits to follow.
Well, the consistency takes some time to build towards. Instrumentally exceptional and boisterous noise that the band would use for decades to come, but it’s clear why Grohl was behind the kit and not writing lyrics for Nirvana. Opening song This Is a Call is a tad ridiculous but the energetic guitar work, the transition for Grohl from grunge to garage rock-like experiences, takes precedence. Lyrical density isn’t the point here, though. It’s more a project for Grohl to work on post-Nirvana. Light, nice material with the instrumental effectiveness Grohl has always maintained. He reflects the popular, hazy feeling of the times with Big Me, a relatively straightforward love track that sounds as though it’s gunning for a spot on a rom-com soundtrack. It even has that little bass fadeout note. Credit where it’s due, though, Foo Fighters wears its influences on its sleeve and never shies away from the want and purpose of its music.
Alone + Easy Target is a nice riff on what Pixies had achieved the previous decade while Good Grief vies for the attention of a loved one but, in typical fashion, has nothing of interest to say when that notice is given. Floaty is an excellent contrast. Where Grohl’s voice works for the garage rock-like experience, it’s when he implements a softer acoustic touch to the heartbreaking honesty that it works best of all. It’s all about kindling a love for all new sounds, and Foo Fighters is the perfect place for Grohl to do that. From the heavy, screaming thrills of Weenie Beenie to the rocked-out, grunge-adjacent instrumental tones of Oh, George, Grohl carries himself with a real spirit. It infects the best part of Foo Fighters’ debut and at least gives listeners an honest explanation when lesser songs like Good Grief come around.
A strong end to the band’s debut is what Grohl needed, and it’s exactly what he gets. The stretch of Oh, George to final track Exhausted isn’t going to set the world on fire or revolutionise anything, but it is solid work from the Nirvana drummer. Perhaps the problem is other instrumentalists came into Foo Fighters. Grohl alone is, like Paul McCartney with Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, a mastermind when untethered by the demands and desires of other creatives. This is Grohl let loose, and though the results are far from brilliant, the intensity and inspiration that comes from the likes of Wattershed and Exhausted is clear. It follows a very simple rock and roll path, but there’s much to enjoy about that process, that need for exhilarating material. Foo Fighters would still embody that with later releases, but it feels a bit toothless at times. Foo Fighters may be rough around the edges but it has an urgency to it lacking in follow-up albums.
