Album Review: Foo Fighters - Medicine at Midnight

If 2011’s Wasting Light was the sound of Foo Fighters declaring just how much they had left to offer, Medicine at Midnight suggests that declaration came with an expiry date. The band’s 10th LP shows signs of a band spluttering out, marred by a lack of interesting, substantial ideas. Few drop the needle on a new Foo Fighters record in the hopes of a reinvention of the musical wheel, yet when they are at their best, the Foos can produce undeniable stadium rock anthems matched by few other bands in terms of output. Medicine at Midnight seems to deviate from this format, resulting in the most experimental album Dave Grohl and Co. have put their name to. Some of these ideas stick and some fall flat, yet perhaps the album’s biggest sin is its tendency to fall into mediocracy in so many places – despite its brisk 36-minute run time.

Some of these ideas stick and some fall flat, yet perhaps the album’s biggest sin is its tendency to fall into mediocracy

The LP’s opener, ‘Making A Fire’ is one of the best examples of Medicine at Midnight’s frequent attempts to sound slightly different to a usual Foo Fighters album, yet not so different as to take any real musical risks. Firstly, the ‘na na na’ backing vocals grow immediately tiresome and seem to operate only to fill the void left by the lack of a decent refrain. In addition, the track’s questionable mixing and dull main riff all compound to cement ‘Making A Fire’ one of the weakest openers to any Foo Fighters record ever. The track also hints at a strange problem that the wider album suffers from: the overproduction of backing vocals. It may sound trivial, yet the emphasis placed on irritating and unnecessary backing vocals throughout the record come across as though they were simply tacked on in the final stages of the recording process, in the hope of making tracks like ‘Making A Fire’ and ‘No Son of Mine’ sound expansive, quirky, or unusual. The result is anything but, with these transparent vocal elements hinting at the Foo’s apprehensiveness to truly flesh out any real attempts at experimentation on Medicine at Midnight.

The first single released from the album, ‘Shame Shame,’ is admittedly a more successful attempt at deviating from the expected Foo Fighters sound, with muted guitars, sharp string sections and a restrained lead vocal performance lending the track an ominous atmosphere that complements the lyrical themes of loneliness and departure. The track’s main components seem to be well thought out here, yet it is the execution behind these ideas that leaves so much to be desired. The track teases and edges its way towards a powerful climax but remains disappointingly steadfast on its initially enjoyable, yet ultimately narrow path, as it slowly sinks its way deeper into tedium. Things start to look up with the introduction of ‘Cloudspotter’s brilliantly slick guitar tone and main riff, which, paired with a well-utilised cowbell, offer a sense of urgency that the first two tracks failed to conjure. However, it must be said that, after four years away, was the ‘bang bang bang, you’re so mean’ refrain really the best the band could come up with here? It is these small, yet laughably weak elements of Medicine at Midnight that slowly add up through these nine tracks.

‘Shame Shame,’ is admittedly a more successful attempt at deviating from the expected Foo Fighters sound

Nevertheless, the LP is not completely without merit. ‘Waiting on a War’ is expanded to a characteristically Foo Fighters level of overproduction that, in this case, pays off. The song is hardly full of fresh ideas with its simple building acoustic into electric structure, but it offers one of the LP’s most classic sounding Foo Fighters moments that is sure to please many fans. The album’s true highlight arrives with ‘Holding Poison,’ which is infused with a rare sense of genuine and infectious energy that will undeniably translate excellently into a live setting. The track’s chorus is a gleeful, if fleeting moment where the band seem genuinely connected to the music they are creating on Medicine at Midnight. Sadly, it is times like these that make the track’s immediate successor, ‘Chasing Birds’ (nothing more than a Beatles inspired bore), seem even more painfully dull and lifeless. Perhaps it may seem harsh to only praise the group when playing fast and loud, and criticise them for switching things up or slowing them down. Yet, if Medicine at Midnight proves anything, it is that Foo Fighters simply do not have much to offer besides their predictable, yet dependable festival field formula. Whilst this approach to song writing is hardly progressive or daring at this point, so much of the band’s back catalogue frankly feels so much more enjoyable than any of the half-baked ideas on Medicine at Midnight.

Overall, the bands 10th LP is frequently average, and rarely excellent. Whilst some ideas show potential, it is perhaps clear that the band are not fully committed to experimentation, and as a result, ideas which could have proven that the band have more to offer than stadium anthems leave the listener yearning for exactly those types of tracks. In this way, Medicine at Midnight leaves a lot to be desired, and little to come rushing back for.