Foo Fighters return with an album that clings on to their legacy with a few good tracks. The few tumultuous years Grohl has gone through after But Here We Are (2023). Your Favourite Toy has great sound and good songs but remains an average release for one of the biggest rock bands on Earth.
Let me begin this review by saying I am a massive Foo Fighters fan. YouTube knows this and has taken me all the way to show Dave Grohl’s running ‘Fresh Pots!’ joke with Them Crooked Vultures and even him tracking drums for The Killing Joke. If the previous sentence meant nothing to you logically, we’re not the same level of fans of the Foo Fighters. I’ve listened to EPs, live shows and live EPs that they released in the MMDDYYYY format. Their music and energy has helped me through significant lows in my life and will continue to do so. With Your Favorite Toy, Dave Grohl has wandered into very different spectral themes, and many of them are relevant to what is going on in his life. But the FFF (Foo Fighters Fanbase) also appreciates all the other band members that make the songs. So let’s dive in.
A timeline rundown
This is an album review, not a TMZ article – I’ll give you a wide range of what has happened in the past few years:
- After long-time drummer Taylor Hawkins death due to drug overdose, Foo Fighters went on hiatus. They returned with But Here We Are in 2023, with Grohl playing drums on the album. An incredible collection.
- The talented and versatile Josh Freese gets hired for their tour. Josh Freese gets fired.
- Dave Grohl publicly admits to having extramarital relations and a child outside wedlock with another woman.
- Ilan Rubin becomes the Foo’s new drummer.
- They announce this album last October, with the single Asking for a Friend.
Do these things matter? A lot of them do not, but art inspires life, which inspires art. So now you know, when you listen to the album, Opening with the apt Caught in the Echo, it talks about being rescinded into the loop of grief again. After losing Hawkins and his own mother in a few months, Dave Grohl channelled a lot of this sorrow into many songs on But Here We Are. With whatever else is going on, he is able to bring that energy, wall of guitar sound and excitement that the Foos are known for on the opening song. It opens with Grohl’s signature scream, and the drum beat on the 3 acts as an exciting rhythm section to listen to. It’s one of those fast-paced post-punk songs delivered with the trifecta guitar groove the band is known for.
The punk aggression
The chorus comes as a great melodic break, and Rubin proves himself to be a student of punk. He keeps the grooves tight, experiments with little licks during breaks and lets the transitions happen with the breathing ease that Foo Fighters fans love so much. Of All People continues the punk barrage, along with a story that’s inspired by Dave’s past. This is where the energy peaks at an all-time high for the album, narratives taking unexpected twists and turns while a polished punk sound greets you. For me personally, this is where the groove of the album fractures in ways.
Window is a good song in itself but doesn’t belong here on the album. The sludge-like riff and tone is unique, sure, but the lyrics in themselves have mild highlights. This is the same case I found in the track Child Actor, which comes in at number 8. The theme is sorted and is there, but the repetition in the chorus is not something that’s as striking as Grohl and Co. probably expected. We don’t listen to this genre as art-nuanced, but let’s be honest, Dave has written deeper lyrics than “You were a window cleaner letting in the sun.”
Building on the groove
The radio filter sound in Your Favourite Toy, along with the catchy chord progression, comes in as an album highlight. This song is anthemic; it’s heavy enough and allows the band to get the crowd riled up. Don’t forget, this is a headlining rock band that plays stadiums around the world. If you listen to the album overall, you’d want the band to commit to either the hard and heavy stuff or the tracks that are more pop-orientated. I found the riff construction of some of the songs inspired and energetic – If You Only Knew is one of them. With a Zeppelin-like odd time on the track, the lyrics, vocals and energy soar.
Spit Shine continues those anthems the Fighters are known for. The ‘ooh ooh…‘ is a more playful version of what we would hear the crowd sing for Best of You. From this track to Child Actor is what I would consider the lull of this album. Though there are good parts in the songs, the tracks aren’t exactly their highlights. They are okay tracks, but we FF fans are subjected to some amazing compositions through the years. I do see Grohl’s experimentative angle of merging those punk beginnings with this self-reflective stadium rock experience, but I personally didn’t groove to it.
Amen, Caveman and Asking for a Friend definitely give the raise to the album that you want to hear. Both have great energy, great chorus hooks and a classic execution – Foo Fighters style. I am a lifelong Foo Fighters fan, but this experience was similar to Medicine at Midnight. Some good songs, but overall above average as an album release. So, what did you think of this album? I’m asking for a friend:
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