The popular alternative rock band, Foo Fighters, released their latest album “Sonic Highways” earlier this month.
The band saw its start in 1994 by Nirvana’s former drummer and multi-instrumentalist, Dave Grohl. For the first album, Grohl was listed as the only official member of the band. Foo Fighters consists of Grohl on guitar and lead vocals, Taylor Hawkins on drums, Pat Smear on guitar, Nate Mendel on bass, Chris Shiflett on guitar and Rami Jaffee on keyboards.
“Sonic Highways” is the eighth studio album by Foo Fighters. Released on Nov. 10, the entire album was written by Grohl. Each of the eight songs was recorded in a different city throughout the United States and were written based on Grohl’s feelings toward that city. The cities include Chicago, Ill., Washington, D.C., Nashville, Tenn., Austin, Texas, Los Angeles, Calif., New Orleans, La., Seattle, Wash. and New York, N.Y. Grohl said in a recent interview, “It was tricky to pick only eight cities in America that are considered musical capitals.”
The album was released digitally, on CDs and on vinyl records. The vinyl records have nine different covers, one for each city the songs are based off and one with the “infinity” building.
The album has a companion series on HBO. “Sonic Highways” shows the bands’ travels throughout the United States. It shows the inspiration behind each song and takes the audience through the writing process of each song.
The first single released off the album is “Something from Nothing.” This song is based on the city of Chicago, Ill. “Something from Nothing” was released on Oct. 16 and debuted at number five on big name charts. The song is rather slow and a great introduction to the rest of the album. The bass guitar has some pretty awesome and unique lines that add to the overall quality of the song. “Something from Nothing” has a more punk rock sound that is present in some other songs on the album.
“In the Clear,” the sixth song listed on the album, is based on the city of New Orleans, La. “It’s hard not to talk about the hurricane when you go to New Orleans, you know? They’re still recovering,” Grohl said in a recent interview. “So, I wrote [this] song after interviewing all of the musicians and the people that went through that experience, and can apply to almost anything in life.” “In the Clear” is a very fast-paced song with awesome guitar riffs. The vocals are very quiet while the instruments are rather loud, so it is difficult to hear the lyrics. From what you can hear of the lyrics, the song is about rebirth and how New Orleans is not completely out of the woods yet.
On “Sonic Highways,” some songs are more punk than others, but the album flows smoothly from one song to another all the same. Grohl’s lyrics reflect each of the cities in a unique and interesting way. A must-listen for any Foo Fighters fan and musical history buffs, and don’t forget to look out for the HBO series.
