On Friday, April 24, alt-rock titans the Foo Fighters released their 12th studio album, “Your Favorite Toy”. After a decade of inconsistent output, the album marks a return to form—though at times an unimaginative one—making it a fun but familiar addition to their discography. It arrives during a period of transition for the band, following the departure of drummer Josh Freese, who had stepped in after the death of Taylor Hawkins, and the arrival of Ilan Rubin. Formerly a member of Nine Inch Nails and the youngest living member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Rubin is a strong addition. While Freese is a monster drummer in his own right, Rubin feels like a better fit. He brings a more aggressive edge that a band fronted by Dave Grohl, the famously aggressive drummer for Nirvana, benefits from.
The album’s opener, “Caught in the Echo,” starts off with a bang. Loud guitars are paired with Grohl’s screams, creating a solid track that wouldn’t feel out of place on an earlier Foos record.
“Of All People” has a similar vibe. It’s loud and upbeat, but it also features some personal lyrics from Grohl. The song seems to be Grohl reflecting on being a survivor of the Grunge scene of the 1990s, a genre that had a lot of issues with illicit substances and often ended tragically.
“Window” slows the album down a bit. It has a dark, repetitive riff that almost reminds me of “Vitalogy” era Pearl Jam. It’s a great alt-rock song that feels like a tribute to 2000s alt rock.
The title track, “Your Favorite Toy,” sounds like a dance track, and while the instrumentation is very solid, the vocal distortion on Grohl’s voice is hard to listen to after the first 30 seconds of the track.
“If You Only Knew” also has similar vocal distortion; however, the less harsh vocals on the track make it far more listenable, and the chorus is one of my favorite moments on the album.
The next track, “Spit Shine,” is my least favorite track on the album. It’s just sort of there, and personally, I don’t find it to be very exciting. While it is not an unlistenable mess or anything, “Spit Shine” struggles to grab my attention.
“Unconditional” is a solid radio rock song. One of the more personal songs on the album reflects the struggles that the band and Grohl have experienced in recent years. A slower song, it harkens back to some of the earlier “Foo Fighters” hits, namely “Everlong”.
“Child Actor” could be tied with “Spit Shine” for my least favorite song on the album. While it starts solid, with very strong instrumentation and lyrics, it devolves into repeated chants of “Turn the cameras off,” and it just feels lazy and phoned in. Had the chorus been cut down a bit I think it could have worked, but it long overstays its welcome and desperately needs more content.
“Amen, Cavemen” is awesome. Loud guitars with dance drums and less abrasive vocal distortion, this is a standout of the album. This is the kind of song I hope to get out of a “Foo Fighters” album, and it gets extra points because “Amen, Cavemen” is a great song title.
The album ends on what I believe is its strongest song, “Asking for a Friend.” The first single off the album and first recording featuring Rubin on drums is an awesome tune. A dramatic ballad, it starts slow and builds until you get kicked in the face with distorted guitars and a killer performance from both Grohl and Rubin. It feels like a seasoned band firing on all cylinders.
The album overall has strong content; however, it is weighed down by several production issues that make listening to it a bit of a chore. As mentioned previously, some of the vocal distortion is just awful. It works on some tracks, but on tracks where Grohl is already screaming his head off, it is unpleasant to the ears.
Rubin’s drum performance on the album itself is killer, but I don’t love the production on some tracks. On “Asking for a Friend,” for example, they have fallen into the trap that many modern albums have. The drums are too processed, with a lot of reverb added on top, making them sound too artificial. This is detrimental to a band like the Foo Fighters that thrive with a rawer sound. On some tracks, the snare is super loud in the mix while the kick sounds super dull, which really bugged me. On a positive note, the guitars sound excellent. They are loud, punchy, and in your face when they need to be, but also glassy and clean when the things slow down.
This album is miles better than the last several years of the band’s output; however, it never lives up to the highs of the albums up to “Sonic Highways”. While a solid album, it retreads much of what the Foo Fighters have been doing since 1995. It’s not anything groundbreaking, but it is a solid album that I haven’t yet grown tired of.
