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Foo Fighters – ‘Sonic Highways’

2 min read
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After taking a back-to-basics approach by recording in a garage studio, using analog tape on 2011’s “Wasting Light,” the Foo Fighters hit the road on a magical journey to absorb the unique musical heritage of eight special cities.

With celebrated stops in New Orleans, Seattle, Chicago, Nashville, Austin, Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles, the group recorded a new track after meeting and interviewing the local musicians from each city. Frontman Dave Grohl finds inspiration at each stop by taking in the surrounding culture and style and sweating it back out with his Foo Fighters’ signature spurts of raw energy and unrestrained exuberance.

Recording once again with longtime ally and producer Butch Vig, the Foo Fighters channel the energy and inspiration gathered from the musically rich cities and classic studios to deliver an album possessing an onslaught of guitar gusto, pounding percussion and ear-splitting choruses.

The Chicago-inspired “Something from Nothing” is further enhanced by the noteworthy guitar playing of Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen, while songs like “Congregation,” “Outside” and “In the Clear” feature the talents of Zac Brown, Joe Walsh and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band respectively.

Grohl, who has called his latest project a love letter to the history of American music, begins penning the track lyrics immediately after spending time interviewing the local artists.

The band’s eighth studio album is the creation, formation and celebration of the genius of Grohl and his contagious determination to learn more about music’s roots and influences. If you are looking for a jaw-dropping way to spend In dependence Day this July, the Foo Fighters will be playing a 20th anniversary show at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. featuring appearances by Buddy Guy, Gary Clark Jr., Heart, Joan Jett, LL Cool J, Trouble Funk and Trombone Shorty.

Let the fireworks begin.

Clint Rhodes is the music critic for the Herald-Standard.

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