Album Review: Foo Fighters, Medicine at Midnight
By Resonate | March 12, 2021
Words By Matt Thomas
The past few years have been big for The Foo Fighters, considering their already gargantuan size. Headlining Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2019, celebrating their 25th anniversary last year, and releasing their version of a ‘dance record.’ It may not have ticked all the boxes of a dance record; instead feeling much more American-Rock Radio. Their newest record Medicine at Midnight serves up a dollop of old school, mixed with female backing singers and some drum loops. Very odd, but fairly coherent when slapped together, and definitely a standout piece of work amongst their tried and tested recipe of hard-hitting garage rock.
Opening with the stomper Making A Fire, which will have you smiling ear to ear, it seems that finally, the ‘nicest man in rock’ has the music to match his personality. An infectious groove paired with a female choir section makes for an unexpected, but great way to start the record. The Foo Fighters cover a lot of the ground that will make fans happy with Grohl belting out the choruses and the power-chord rock tropes still firmly intact. However, funkier guitars and gospel choirs do feature throughout, notably on tracks such as Cloudspotter, and Medicine at Midnight. For a nine-track album, there’s quite a few angles within it. No Son of Mine is Dave Grohl’s attempt at an anti-war song, and the slow, acoustic Waiting On A War is a nice way to break up the album.
However, some points of the record don’t work such as Shame Shame and Holding Poison which can sound a bit formulaic and feel rushed. Another downfall is the production. In hindsight I don’t know if teaming up with Adele’s producer Greg Kurstin was the best idea, whilst the pop elements do bop, some tracks lack the grittier energy of classic Foos.
This album is a nice addition to their extensive song collection, with a few tracks that stand up next to their classics. Whilst there are obvious drop-off points, a lot of this will slot nicely into their live setlists. On the whole, for a band on their tenth album, you can’t complain. There’s some new stuff, some old stuff and we can’t wait to see them in the rain and mud of festivals again.
7/10
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