Foo Fighters, But Here We Are Album Review
If grief-rock is a genre, Foo Fighters just released the newest and rawest record in the collection. But Here We Are is anchored in loss, love, letting go, holding on and the complicated space in between.
After the sad and surprising death of Taylor Hawkins, I had no idea what to expect from the future of Foo Fighters. Each and every one of the band and crew and extended Foo family had certainly experienced loss before (some more publicly than others), but this hit right at home, as deep in the heart as it could have.
What I’m not sure I expected was a 10-track record that takes us directly through the path of dealing with that loss.
At its best, music takes us to places that make us feel. The songs take us inside the writers and singers and players. They turn into soundtracks for reels of memories you might not have been prepared to think about. The words tell one story but become projected onto another story of our own. I feel that a lot on this album.
Early in the album, we get Under You and Hearing Voices back-to-back and it hits me like a ton of bricks. I’m taken back to days of not being able to move or eat or sleep or think.
Both songs vividly take me to the fears and feelings I had when I lost both my dad and step-brother. Under You gets me right away with the sensation of looking for lost faces, all the while knowing they won’t be there. I remember doing it. Searching. Thinking I saw them. Wishing I had. And then knowing I hadn’t and I couldn’t, and I never would again. And Hearing Voices reminds me of the deep sadness of knowing I’d never hear their voices again – and the fear that I’d forget what they sounded like at all. I’ve spent a lot of time trying to hear them in my head so I don’t lose them. If you know, you know.
While Taylor is front of mind for all Foo Fighters fans, Dave Grohl’s mother also passed away in 2022, adding another layer of loss to this album and the songs herein. The Teacher, a 10-minute epic in the #9 slot on the record, feels especially dedicated to her. Before she was a celebrated mother of a rockstar, Virginia was a teacher and in every interview and appearance, we saw the love between her and her son. We can feel the same love, clothed in rock and roll here.
Immediately following The Teacher, is Rest. It is the perfect end to this record. This unintended therapy session. This 48-minute minefield of feelings. With all due respect to Tom Petty, goodbye is the hardest part. And Rest is the closest we get on this album. It’s where I fought back tears the hardest. It’s one I can’t imagine having been easy to write or sing or even think about playing live.
Sometimes a song is just a song. Sometimes an album is just something you put on while you work or hang out or whatever. And sometimes it’s more.
But Here We Are feels like more to me. From start to finish we’re all in this together. We all know what’s happening and what we’re going through. It’s a shared journey, this process of listening to the band deal with their grief, of being reminded of our own, of being together, no matter where we are.
At this time of this review, I’ve listened to But Here We Are a bunch. Mostly on repeat. Sometimes going back to specific songs. I’ve tried to put myself in the shoes of Dave, Pat, Nate, Chris and Rami. I’ve tried to be in their feelings. I’ve been in my own. I’ve tried to place this in the Foo Fighters catalogue, but I’m struggling.
There was Foo Fighters before Taylor. There was Foo Fighters with Taylor. And now there’s Foo Fighters after Taylor. It’s not somewhere I’d ever imagined we’d be. But here we are…
Foo Fighters, But Here We Are Tracklist
1. Rescued
2. Under You
3. Hearing Voices
4. But Here We Are
5. The Glass
6. Nothing At All
7. Show Me How
8. Beyond Me
9. The Teacher
10. Rest
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