Wunderhorse - "Midas" (2024)

Wunderhorse's growth has been quite the slowburn since the release of their debut, 2022's Cub. It seemed to go under the radar for me - I don't think I checked it out until months after release when one of the songs cropped up on my TikTok fyp and peaked my interest. The band's style was very much an homage to 90's alt rock and grunge. And while there was a handful of really great songs on the record, overall it felt rather derivative - so many of the moments felt like imitations of Nirvana and The Bends in particular. Midas is an interesting follow-up, as it sticks to its guns on the aesthetic choices (there is very little growth in that regard) but pairs it with a crop of better written tunes that really play to the bands strengths.

The biggest strength being frontman Jacob Slater's passionate and powerful vocal delivery, and raw and heartaching lyrics. In typical grunge fashion, Slater switches up between a gruff howl and and a hushed, lowkey drawl with song topics dealing with loss, depression and trauma quite starkly and upfront. To use the Nirvana comparison again, the way Slater writes about these topics captures that same intoxicating darkness that Kurt Cobain did so well. Tracks like Superman and July really make your heart wrench.

The songwriting has also improved, the tracks are sharper and the hooks catchier. The record runs at a breakneck pace - being 40 minutes with nearly 9 of those taken up by the closer. The album opens with the title track, a super punchy two and a half minute banger before leading into the much moodier and sinister Rain. The layers of jangly guitar build up to a massive crescendo. The mid-paced riffs and anthemic chorus of Silver are matched with quite a dynamic mix which in places leaves loads of space for the chugging rhythm section, but in others is overwhelmed by the reverb-y lead guitars and Slater's vocals.

The midpoint of the record is marked by the 1-2 punch of the aforementioned Superman and July. Superman is the first time the record really slows it down for quite a harrowing acoustic ballad. The song details the dissociation and suicidal ideation that can be brought on by depression. Slater details being in an office block, looking out of the window - daydreaming about either jumping or flying. The lyrics are left deliberately vague, allowing the imagery about becoming Superman to really sink in. The simplicity of the sing is commanding and quite haunting. July, on the other hand is the heaviest and loudest song on the album. The sludgy riffs and shout / screamed vocals recall the heavier side of grunge of the likes of Soundgarden and Stone Temple Pilots. The song has some pretty violent imagery around drug addiction and seizures, with Slater howling "I'm ready to die" over and over on the chorus.

Not everything is quite as exciting. The vocals on Emily veer a little too close to a Cobain impression for my liking, and the instrumental is a pretty standard post-grunge affair. Arizona also feels a little flat and by the book. The back end of the record is fine although feels a little underwhelming after July. Cathedrals and Girl sort of just breeze past. Again the lyrics and vocal performance are solid, although musically they feel quite dime a dozen 90s alt rock. I do quite enjoy the closer, Aeroplane. It is another slow jam with some great lyrics comparing Slater's mental state to having a grounded aeroplane stuck in his garden. But the song is nearly 9 minutes long and it really doesn't do anything to justify that length.

Midas is certainly a step up from Cub, and has a pretty solid baseline of quality. However it does still feel a touch derivative in places - staying firmly in the 90s alt rock aesthetics and doesn't do anything novel or new with the genre. It scratches a certain itch, and is a good time while it does - so I would still recommend to anyone who has a soft spot for that era of rock music.

Top Tracks: Midas, Rain, Silver, Superman, July

7/10

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

Foo Fighters - "Medicine At Midnight" (2021)

Foo Fighters are one of those bands for me that deserve their legendary status based primarily on their singles and live show, not really their albums. Not that any of them are really all that bad, but the band has very much stayed in the same lane for the past 25 years, making basically the same record of feel-good, anthemic hard rock and post-grunge tunes with each go around. The singles are usually brilliant, but the lack of variety in the deep cuts means that even the band's most fan favourite albums have never really gripped me the whole way through.

This time around, though, things were different. Unfortunately, not in a good way. None of the singles really grabbed me, and were generally a bit meh. Which was worrying, as the singles are always the best tracks on a Foos record. Luckily this drop in quality hasn't transferred to the album tracks as well; they're just as fine-to-decent as Foos deep cuts. But without a couple of really great tentpole tracks, Medicine At Midnight really has no draw.

On the whole the band has mellowed out on this record compared to some of the others. The distortion is turned down, the rhythm section is tighter and slightly groovier, and none of the tracks descend into Dave Grohl's ferocious scream like you'd here on All My Life, White Limo and Run. Many of the tracks are laced with strings and other cinematic elements. It makes the album feel very polished and combined with the softer approach makes it feel more like a product than something with a lot of depth and heart. Which is weird, because Grohl clearly wears his heart on his sleeve in interviews about authenticity in music. It's not overbearing, but it just sounds a bit too clean considering Foo Fighter's ethos and aesthetic. 

Out of the 9 tracks here, Cloudspotter and No Son Of Mine are probably some of the better ones. Cloudspotter has this groovy garage rock vibe, and is one of the more rag-tag and unpolished sounding tracks here. No Son Of Mine feels like an homage to thrash metal. Its nowhere as heavy as true thrash, but the guitars chug, the drums thunder and Grohl puts in one of the more aggressive performances on the album. It's actually pretty catchy as well, which is more than most the songs here. The closer, Love Dies Young is also the only track that resembles some of the sing-a-long feel good anthems that are the band's most popular. It's an injection of energy that's welcome after how restrained and by the numbers the album has been leading up to it. These tracks do pale in comparison to the band's finest, but they're definitely more entertaining than the rest of the record.

Medicine At Midnight is a fine Foo Fighters record, but probably the group's least significant. The only other record on a similar level is Sonic Highways, but at least that album has the whole '8 songs recorded at 8 historical studios' thing going for it to make it somewhat notable. If you're a superfan of the band, there's plenty of stuff here that you'll enjoy; but as a casual fan it is going to always near the bottom of the list in the rare occasion that I want to listen to a Foos record in full.

Top Tracks: Cloudspotter, No Son Of Mine, Love Dies Young

5/10

Garbage - "Garbage" (1995)

Garbage are a band I have been casually interested in for years. I enjoy their music when it comes up on the radio and I have had this album saved on Spotify since I've had it; I may have even listened to it once or twice. However I haven't really given them enough attention to properly get into them.

Garbage are one of the most critically acclaimed groups of the post-grunge scene, crafting a unique sound incorporating elements of grunge and 90's alternative rock with electronics, dance and rave. This creates a loud and busy sound, that's also melodic and radio friendly. Some tracks lean more to the rock side of the spectrum, like Not My idea and Supervixen, while others are far more dancey, for example As Heaven Is Wide and Stupid Girl. More subtle use of synths and electronics are used in places across the album on the gentler tracks. Album closer Milk almost leans into some trip-hop sounding beats.

I wouldn't describe Shirley Manson's vocals as anything Earth shattering, but are nonetheless incredibly expressive and build the intensity on the heavier tracks and show vulnerability when needed. She very much sounds like a 90's rock front-woman. The lyrics on the, other hand, are fascinating. The band cover themes of self-loathing, sexuality, obsession, self-destruction, abuse and power fantasies. The uptempo music and the tone of Shirely's voice mean it doesn't become too depressing though. It creates the vibe that some of what the band are saying are interesting fictions, or at least extensions of the truth.

Supervixen and Vow are relationship power fantasies, with the latter being straight up abusive, with Shirley singing "I will break your soul apart" as part of the chorus. Stupid Girl and Dog New Tricks are positioned on the other end of the situation, detailing the self-loathing and worthlessness of the victim. Only Happy When It Rains is a catchy tune about wallowing in depression and negativity and Fix Me Now is a cry for help late on in the tracklist.

This album is a blast. It's dark and curious, yet remaining very listenable. Each track provides something slightly different to the table, but remains very much within the sound of the album. Not everything from the post-grunge scene has held up all that well, but this album totally has and I'm looking forward to delving into the rest of their discography.

Top Tracks: Supervixen, Queer, Only Happy When It Rains, As Heaven is Wide, Vow, Stupid Girl, Fix Me Now, Milk

8/10