05 11 11 14 by Shelley Hendricks

Scene

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

NorthernStar.info/DeKalb_Scene H @NSScene H 815-753-5606

Foo Fighters use cruise control on ‘Highway’ Rock group stays in comfort zone

Andrew Roberts Columnist

Foo Fighters’ “Sonic Highways” lacks an innovative sound despite the band’s new city-to-city songwriting approach. The album, which was released Monday, came out with the Foo Fighters’ rockcumentary of the same title. The series documents the band’s recording of the eight songs on the album in eight cities. Each song has a definite flavor of the city it was recorded in, adding richness to the narrative of the album. Dave Grohl, lead singer and guitarist, poured incredible amounts of affection into “Sonic Highways.” “Something from Nothing” features funky guitar licks and lines that call back to the Great Chicago Fire. This song, naturally, was recorded in Chicago, and it is influenced by Chicago-based bands like the Smashing Pumpkins, who rely heavily on layering guitar with the lead singer’s vocals. Grohl’s signature growl and vocals are as strong as ever and are shown well through the powerful fourth track, a two-part piece: “What Did I Do? / God as My Witness.” This

Recommended • “Something from Nothing” • “The Feast and the Famine” • “What Did I Do? / God as my Witness” song, which was recorded in Austin, is peppered with elements of punk and Southern rock. These eight songs, while inspired by their respective cities, maintain Foo Fighters usual soft alternative rock sound. The concept behind the album is something the band hasn’t tried before, but that’s not totally apparent in the songs, as many of them sound like they could come from the Foo Fighters’ previous albums. The opening riff to “Something from Nothing” sounds similar to earlier Foo Fighters’ hits, like the 2007 single, “The Pretender.” Unfortunately, the songs don’t seem to have strayed far from the band’s comfort level. This does not eliminate the rich story created by the album’s conception. “Sonic Highways’” reoccurring motif of the number 8 is even shown on its cover, which includes eight famous structures from the eight cities where the album was recorded. For pure aesthetic value, the record is a fascinating example of superior album design and shows the dedication of Grohl and his bandmates. But, musically, “Sonic Highways” is more of the same sound as heard in previous albums.

The Associated Press

Foo Fighters’ album “Sonic Highways’” cover blends eight cities and historical structures into one image. The American rock band’s eighth record has eight songs. “Sonic Highways” was released Monday.

Fans of the Foo Fighters will which has been called Grohl’s is beautifully written and sounds certainly travel in droves to at- “love letter to the history of fine, but it’s a letter that has been tain this uniquely crafted album, American music.” This love letter written before.

‘River’ may mark end of Pink Floyd The Associated Press

Never was an album more aptly named than “The Endless River,” the new — and seemingly final — release from Pink Floyd. It flows unstoppably, and while some listeners may feel it meanders on too long, it’s very easy to get swept along by it. Though this is the band’s first studio album in two decades, much of the material was recorded in 1993 and 1994, during sessions for “The Division Bell.” For years, it seemed that album would be Pink Floyd’s swansong. But now the material has been tweaked and shaped under into a new release, partly in tribute to keyboard player Rick Wright, who died in 2008.

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On it rolls from there, sometimes a tranquil wash, sometimes churned into rapids by Gilmour’s piercing guitar and Nick Mason’s drums, for 18 tracks — four sides of vinyl if you opt for the old-fashioned format. What’s on display is not so much songwriting as chemistry. This band had a magic, and you can hear it throughout “The Endless River.” The band members know it, too. The closing track is “Louder Than Words,” and finally there are lyrics: “We bitch and we fight, diss each other on sight,” it begins, a fond but weary tribute to creative spark and strife. “The sum of our parts, the beat of our hearts, is louder than words.”

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Guitarist David Gilmour has called “The Endless River” a series of musical conversations; the band members’ musical rapport was always more eloquent than their spoken communications. There are not many words on this mostly instrumental album, although physicist Stephen Hawking lends his distinctive voice to “Talkin’ Hawkin’.” The compositions and their titles allude to all the water that has passed under the bridge in the course of Pink Floyd’s long career. The opening track, “Things Left Unsaid,” sets the tone: It’s a woozy wash of Wright’s keyboards, haunting horn sounds and Gilmour’s guitar that feels elegiac.

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