Foo Fighters
One By One

<p>... step by step, the electrifying music of Foo Fighters and Dave Grohl returns to the Indie scene. Despite his flirtation with QOTSA, he still finds the time to record "One By One," a good album, and present it to fans with an upcoming mini-world tour (30 dates). For Germany, 3 dates are scheduled in December (with Supergrass support!). Regarding the album, it must be stated immediately that "One By One", unfortunately once again, does not reach the levels of the legendary and distant debut "Foo Fighters" from 1995. Too many years have passed and the Foo sound has constantly evolved, in some ways negatively, moving increasingly away from the classic Grunge sounds, but in other ways positively, as it has matured and kept up with the times. Sure, the latest work still has many good old sparks, just think of the compelling single "All My Life", song no. 3, "Have It All", or no. 10, "Burn Away" (the voice slightly reminds one of B. Corgan), but also Dave's "fling" with QOTSA leaves an indelible mark on their music: "Low" and the splendid "Come Back", my favorite that closes the album in the best possible way, would look good even on a QOTSA lp. And in "Times Like These," the indirect collaboration with Mark Lanegan (ex Screaming Trees) also becomes evident. Beautiful "Tired Of You", the inevitable ballad with even double "E-Bow" feedback in the background. Presenting itself in perfect Foo-Grunge style are no. 7, "Halo", with the much-loved hoarse - pseudoscreaming - voice of Dave, and "Lonely As You", which stands out for the successful second voice and melodic aggression of the guitars. "Overdrive" is difficult to judge, a track reminiscent of the punky sounds of Ash and perhaps could have been omitted. Overall, an album more Indie-Rock than Grunge, not very exciting at first listen, but as often happens, very enjoyable if listened to endlessly, basically the more you listen to it, the more you like it. In my opinion, their best release after the eponymous debut album in 1995, potentially even on par if the production had been up to par (poor volume mastering not only in "Come Back"). Like QOTSA, Foo Fighters also include an interesting Limited Edition DVD (I am among the lucky ones, woohoo!) that will not disappoint fans of Dave Grohl's legendary band. The right rating would therefore be a 3.5, but making an effort in a nostalgic madness, "One By One" grabs the definitive 4. djd</p>