I once compared Foo Fighters to the comedy film genre in that there are a lot of great examples of excellent comedies but opinion will always be divided on what "the best" films are with some people putting examples like "The Pretender" over others like "My Hero" and vice versa without a single, unifying consensus in the same way everyone knows Die Hard is one of the best action films ever made. It seems Dave Grohl must read this blog and took issue with that comparison so decided to write their flattest, bleakest, most depressing album to date as a throbbing middle finger to me personally.
In all seriousness though, Concrete And Gold is all former, very little latter. Apparently, Dave's main inspiration was his fear and concern for the future of America, what with literally everything that's happening over there right now, but instead of writing a punchy, powerful "don't lose hope, we can take that orange fucker down" record like most artists have had the balls to do with their medium, the Foo Fighters instead chose to wallow in cynicism and depression without turning things around by the end for a million Foos fans to raise their fists at in a triumphant "Fuck yeah!".
Album opener is split into two parts; "T-Shirt" is a short introduction, setting the glum tone for the rest of the album and ending on a decent riff that could've/should've been fleshed out into a full track. However, the next song is arguably the true album opener as "Run" is one of about three songs on the album that feel like they truly belong in the Rock genre. My opinion on "Run" still hasn't changed since I first heard it in June although having listened to the rest of the album, I'm glad they featured it. It might have a godawful verse with a dull riff, terrible vocals and a poor choice of percussion but everything else sounds like a typical Foo Fighters Rock song and will likely give fans something to headbang to at live gigs.
I wish I could say it was just that song that completely beefed the guitar, vocals and drums but it seems to be a running theme throughout this album. "Make It Right" suffers from an unfinished riff and a drum rhythm that doesn't quite fit, not to mention the pointless inclusion of Justin Timberlake on backing vocals that he may as well have recorded over Skype as they add fuck all to the track that other members of the band couldn't have replicated. Then there's "La Dee Da", the only song on the album I enjoyed listening to with tones of "Fire Your Guns" - AC/DC and a stronger feel to each band member's performance. Unfortunately, Taylor Hawkins fails to keep the consistent aggressive rhythm going throughout the track and as a result, you're constantly brought out of the music.
The point I'm basically getting at is for a band fronted by one of Rock's greatest drummers, it feels like a colossal misfire to have him screaming behind a mic playing tepid tunes whilst some low-rate surfer bro/Peter Dinklage lookalike ruins what could've been awesome songs. I'm not saying Taylor Hawkins completely sucks but it does feel like his better skills are poorly utilised in this album. His vocals in "Sunday Rain" sound better than Dave's have in a long time and the dynamics throughout that track feel less like awkward bursts and more like a natural progression. I'm not sure whether Dave's decision to stand at the front and be the face of the band when Taylor is quite possibly better at it is fuelled by arrogance or just a desire to step out from behind the kit having served his time there but either way, I wish they swapped places more.
One of the significant factors behind this album occasionally sounding less like Rock and more like Pop songs covered by a Rock band is down to the band's choice of producer. Greg Kurstin has mostly worked with Pop artists like Lily Allen and Sia so we've ended up with songs like "The Sky Is A Neighbourhood" that attempt to blend keyboard melodies and singsong vocal lines in the chorus with shouting in the verses and a cymbal crashes and "The Line" which sounds more like Kings Of Leon than an actual Rock band. At least they're not unpleasant to listen to, which is more than I can say for some of the notable tracks.
"Happy Ever After (Zero Hour)" may sound like a b-side from The Colour And The Shape but once the strings start and the lyrics sink in, the whole thing becomes instantly drenched in pessimism without really going anywhere after that. Worse still, title track and album closer "Comfortably Nu...uhh, "Concrete And Gold" is so weighed down in grandiose sludge that it belongs on a Queens Of The Stone Age album. You can praise it for being epic but after being dragged through an emotional septic tank for about 50 minutes, I couldn't care less if it sounds like a symphonic salute to Dave's mental state, especially when you end it on a chord and feedback slowly fading out for over a minute.
There are a couple of songs here for people who were looking forward to hearing the Foo Fighters just recording music in a studio again ("Dirty Water" and "Arrows") but ultimately, nothing on Concrete And Gold pumps you up or keeps you invested in the same way that previous albums or similar bands have recently managed. It's all just background noise with a few recognisable hallmarks of mediocre Foo Fighters tracks, an album full of "These Days" and "Everlong" for people who like ready salted Rock.
If you're the sort of person who goes to festivals to see Paloma Faith but sticks around when The Black Keys come on stage, you might enjoy this album. For everyone who doesn't want bland sound, stay away from Concrete And Gold. You won't gain anything positive from the experience of sitting through it and if you're already feeling down, there are better albums that harness that negative emotion into something memorable to listen to like The Getaway - Red Hot Chili Peppers. I rate this album 3/10; it might not be utter shite but it's pretty fucking far from something decent.
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