Foo Fighters - "But Here We Are" (2023)

The 2010's were very much a victory lap for the Foos, basically becoming permanent stadium sell-outs and festival headliners, and the records definitely reflected that - being mostly mediocre re-treads that didn't try too hard (or even need to) as an excuse to go back out on the road again so thousands of people can chant the Everlong riff back at the band in muddy fields across the world. But as the band were touring during 2022, the groups longtime drummer Tayler Hawkins suddenly passed away. The same year, Dave Grohl's mother, Virginia also passed away, and so But Here We Are is explicitly about and dedicated to two of the most important people in Dave's life. 

The record is a cathartic expression of grief but also a hopeful celebration of life in that typically anthemically optimistic Foo Fighters way. From the opening thunderous drumming (Grohl has taken up recording duties for the drums with Josh Freese joining life) and crashing guitars of Rescued has Grohl howls "It came in a flash, it came out of nowhere", you know this is the kind of album to belt your heart out with 10,000 people in a muddy field. The fuzzed out powerpop chords of Under You recall the scrappier, punkier side of the band from the earlier years with some really heartfelt and passionate lyrics about not being to get over what's happened but being hopeful that one day he'll "Come out from under you".

The two opening tracks were the two lead singles, an usually for Foos they're the two best songs on the record and the rest is varying degrees of filler. But on But Hear We Are, the deep cuts are all remarkably solid. Hearing Voices has a super moody and reverby verse section that's reminiscent of The Cure's arena ready songs off Wish. Show Me How is a really restrained and tense duet with Dave's daughter, Violet. She is a phenomenal singer (check out her performance of Jeff Buckley's Grace at the Taylor Hawkins tribute concert last year) and she brings such a different vibe to Foo's typical style. Nothing At All starts of with a chiming guitar and drums pattern before the the roaring guitars and Dave's growl slaps you round the face in the chorus. The lyrics focusing around the self destructive feelings of nihilism and recklessness following a significant loss do really hit hard. The track also has such pit-worthy breakdown and climax.

The record closes out with two very unique songs for the Foos, the first being the 10 minute, linear, multi-section The Teacher. This song is probably the best song on the record, progressing through various moody, lowkey sections laden in effects, to soaring typically Foos chorus sections, to anthemic sections accompanied by ornate strings. The track repeats through these sections with the tempo picking up each time, before the track burns itself out and returns to the brooding moodiness for the final leg. The closer, Rest, starts out as an acoustic cut reprising the melody from Under You, feeling like the record coming full circle. But the guitars crash in about half way through and become increasingly more distorted until its basically a wall of sound by the end of the song. I think it perfectly represents the themes of the record, as in it doesn't end all neatly and nicely, and that you don't just wake up one day and you are over such a massive loss like this.

Unfortunately, the record does have a major flaw that hold it back from being a really really great record, being the production. For some reason the band has decided to mix it so incredibly loud and compressed. Despite being one of the most dynamic records in their discography, the mixing blows everything out so that the quieter moments don't have the space they need and the louder songs can be downright suffocating. The worst offender is the title track, where Dave's iconic scream is somehow fighting to be heard above the guitars and pummelling drums. It's a song I would otherwise really like, but is actually kind of ruined by the production. It's really strange, cause despite how loud and brash the band can be, they've never really had this issue before.

I'm not a Foos superfan, so I couldn't give you an honest ranking of their albums. But this is the first one in a long while that feels like a complete whole and not just a vehicle for a couple of singles and to go out on tour again. Out of the ones I have heard in full, it might even be their best (I know its apparently sacrilege to say anything other than The Colour And The Shape is their best). If it wasn't so compressed, and had a couple more top tier songs instead of The Glass and Beyond Me (they're perfectly fine songs but are very run of the mill Foos compared to the rest of the record), it'd be a truly great record.

Top Tracks: Rescued, Under You, Hearing Voices, Nothing At All, Show Me How, The Teacher, Rest

7/10

Arlo Parks - "My Soft Machine" (2023)

Arlo Parks burst onto the scene with quite the splash in 2021 with her debut record, Collapsed In Sunbeams - winning the Mercury Prize and a Brit Award. It was not hard to see the appeal of that record, with Park's soft and earnest vocal delivery set against very light and summery vaguely trip-hop and soul inspired instrumentals. The songs dealt with quite heavy topics surrounding loss and mental health in a very frank and honest way which has clearly resonated with a lot of people. However, it never quite clicked with me. While there are some highlights, and the record is generally pleasant throughout, I found the record the record quite safe and one-note. The lack of sonic variety in the instrumentals meant they started to run together by the end of the album, and Arlo's lyrical and vocal style felt a little played out. She remained calm and cool throughout, preferring to tell us about her struggles in a very gen z 'therapy speak' kind of way, with no real change in dynamics or expression across the record to really show us the challenges she has been through.

My Soft Machine is certainly a step in the right direction, at least on a musical front. The record expands Arlo's sound to incorporate more elements of synth pop and funk, with a stronger, glitchier trip-hop feel to the beats and even a smattering on indie rock to a couple of the tracks. On the whole the instrumentals feel more fleshed out with more distinct tones and textures to each song. The shimmering synths of Impurities is contrasted nicely against rumbling bass and 90's power pop explosion of Devotion. Which itself is miles away from the squelchy synth funk of Blades. I wouldn't say any of the instrumentals are anything particularly special (and the back end is certainly a step down from the first half), but the variety helps set them apart from each other and the debut.

Lyrically and vocally, however, is very much more of the same from Arlo. Her vocals gently glide on top of the music, never breaking the vibe of the music. I can see how this is the appeal of her as an artist, but tracks like Purple Phase and I'm Sorry just glaze right over me leaving little impression. The best songs on here are the ones that really go for having a big catchy chorus, the aforementioned Blades and lead single Weightless. The soaring vocals and glitchy, chopped up backing vocals sounds like what I would imagine a CHVRCHES trip-hop song would sound like. Phoebe Bridger's shows up to perform backing vocals on Pegasus and has a nice chemistry with Arlo and provides some more meatiness to the vocal presence on that song. It's also a novelty to see Phoebe on a primarily electronic track.

Unfortunately, past Pegasus there isn't much for me to get into on the record. Dog Rose is a very run of the mill jangle pop tune and beat on Puppy is pretty repetitive. The song is just over 3 minutes but feels so much longer. The record limps off with its two most lowkey cuts. Room (Red Room) is smothered in reverb to the point that it all just smooshes together. Ghost brings back the synth funk and trip hop vibes, but the track is so unremarkable for the closer, it just feels like something is missing from it. It would work better if there was a more monuments penultimate song for it to work as the unwinding moment that follows, but the last song with any amount of energy was Dog Rose. 

My Soft Machine feels like a bit of a sidestep, musically it's more varied and fleshed out, but I'd hardly say its more ambitious. And on the whole I'd say the debut has a more consistent baseline of quality, even though the highs here are higher. Blades and Weightless have entered my summer playlist, but I don't think I'll be coming back to the full thing. It's all just very listless and low stakes. Arlo Parks remains an artist I like a lot more in theory than in practice.

Top Tracks: Blades, Weightless, Pegasus

5/10