Foo Fighters
Sonic Highways

Three years after the fabulous "Wasting Light," the Foo Fighters release their eighth studio album. Recorded in eight different cities (Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, and Washington), the album features 8 tracks, each embodying the typical sound of the place where the song was recorded. The album is produced by the Foo Fighters themselves and by Butch Vig, who also produced the previous album (Wasting Light). In my opinion, the cover of the album is the most beautiful the group has ever presented. It's a blend of the aforementioned 8 cities. There are numerous guests, from Zac Brown to Gary Clark Jr and many other local artists from each city.

The album opens with the first single released, "Something From Nothing." Supported by a magnificent guitar riff, the song alternates melancholic parts with more exhilarating ones, featuring no less than 4 electric guitars. An intense finale with Grohl delivering his usual scream. A great start. It continues with "The Feast and the Famine," a typical Foo Fighters song that will wreak havoc live. "Congregation" keeps the album's level high, with a catchy chorus, seriously contending as one of the group's best songs. Only piano and voice start the fourth track "What Did I Do?/God as My Witness." The song is divided into two parts, hence the double title. After the slow beginning, the song explodes into yet another electric ride, with the addition of Gary Clark Jr's guitar. "Outside," recorded in Los Angeles, is supported by Nate Mendel's bass throughout the song. The central part features a beautiful solo by Joe Walsh of the Eagles. "In the Clear" is the most radio-friendly track of the group, but that does not mean it should be disregarded. A chorus accompanied by brass immediately recalls the recording location (New Orleans). Thus, we arrive at the song recorded in the hometown of grunge (Seattle), a place to which Grohl is obviously very attached, but in my opinion, the track is the weakest of the group. "Subterranean" is a ballad dedicated to the city, but it has nothing to do with the typical sound of the place. "I Am a River" closes the album in the best possible way. It is probably the best track on the album. The orchestra accompanies this 7-minute ballad in a continuous crescendo until the epic conclusion with the strings. A fabulous track.

This "Sonic Highways" is the album of the band's definitive maturation, even though the band doesn't need to prove anything to anyone.