It would have been easy for Dave Grohl to walk away from the Foo Fighters forever after 2022. That’s what I expected him to do, at least for an extended period of time, while he and his bandmates processed the devastating and unexpected loss of drummer Taylor Hawkins. Hawkins passed away due to cardiac arrest on March 25, 2022 in his hotel room in Colombia, the night before the band was to play a festival show.
After all, Dave and Taylor were rock and roll soulmates. In his 2021’s autobiography The Storyteller, Grohl wrote this about meeting Taylor:
"Tearing through the room like an F5 tornado of hyperactive joy was Taylor Hawkins, my brother from another mother, my best friend, a man for whom I would take a bullet. Upon first meeting, our bond was immediate, and we grew closer with every day, every song, every note that we played together. I am not afraid to say that our chance meeting was a kind of love at first sight, igniting a musical 'twin flame' that still burns to this day. Together, we have become an unstoppable duo, onstage and off, in pursuit of any and all adventure we can find. We are absolutely meant to be, and I am grateful that we found each other in this lifetime."
As if Hawkins’ passing wasn’t enough, Dave’s mom Virginia Grohl passed away in late July 2022. Dave was especially close with his mother. She had raised him on her own on a school teacher’s salary after her marriage went south. Grohl wrote that they “never had much, but always had enough.” His mom fully supported his love for music from a young age, even when it meant moving across the country from Virginia to Washington state. When Dave toured the world with Nirvana, he would send his mom post cards from each town they visited with funny anecdotes from the road. Later on with the Foo Fighters, he would routinely take her on tour with the band. The two shared an incredibly close bond, and Dave was eternally grateful for everything she had done for him to be able to take a chance to chase his musical dreams. He never commented publicly about her passing, but privately had to be shattered by losing his mother and best friend within a matter of months.
Given these two profound losses in his life, no one would have been surprised if Dave Grohl decided to take some time away and completely put music aside for a while. His legacy is already cemented as one of, if not the greatest, musician from the ‘90s. He was the drummer for Nirvana. He turned the Foo Fighters, a band which once just featured him on every instrument, into the one of the biggest rock bands in the world. He played in a group with John Paul Jones from Led Zeppelin. He drummed for Tenacious D. He’s best friends with Paul McCartney. What more did he have to prove?
The rest of 2022 was relatively quiet for the Foos, until New Year’s Eve when they released the following statement:
— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) December 31, 2022
It served as a stark reminder of the band’s history, forming after the death of Kurt Cobain, but also provided the rationale for continuing in the wake of Taylor Hawkins’ unexpected demise – the healing power of music. Most assumed that it would amount to a run of shows to honor their late drummer. But three months later, rumors started to swirl that the Foos were going to release a new album. It was confirmed in late April when the band announced their 11th studio album But Here We Are would be released in early June 2023.
The record was released about 14 months after Hawkins’ passing. I was apprehensive to listen not only because of the mental state of their bandleader, but also because their recent releases have been underwhelming, to say the least. Their last great record in my eyes is 2011’s Wasting Light. Since that album, there have been scattered moments of brilliance in between generally boring rock records. There’s always a lingering fear that a band with strong early releases will tarnish their reputation with subpar albums in the name of trying to remain relevant (see Weezer). Conversely, Dave Grohl’s creativity spiked in the years following Kurt Cobain’s death. Even though he had most of the their self-titled record written prior, the Foos’ gold standard The Colour and the Shape was written after Kurt’s passing.
The album clocks in at just over 48 minutes over 10 songs. After listening to But Here We Are several times, here are my impressions and takeaways:
1. “Rescued” (4:18)
The opening chords of the song remind me of “Times Like These.” This is a classic Foo Fighters anthem in the vein of “Best of You,” though it falls short of that standard. The riffing is reminiscent of In Your Honor. The lyrics provide us with a context for the album and its creation - the healing power of music and using it as a release for pain. The chorus seems a bit shoehorned, specifically the phrase “rescued,” which loses it some points in my book. It’s a fine opener despite not living up to the bigger anthemic hits the band has had in the past.
2. “Under You” (3:39)
Opening with a distorted riff that brings “Generator” to mind, “Under You” is the first song on the album we can affirmatively say is about Taylor Hawkins: “pictures of us sharing songs and cigarettes – this is how I’ll always picture you.” We see the theme of the album emerging – loss, grief, and coping with them. Another big chorus that sounds upbeat in song but is incredibly sad lyrically. A classic, great Foo Fighters song.
3. “Hearing Voices” (3:48)
Akin to its name, the song contains a haunting quality that remains throughout the track. It’s not a straight forward rocker, but contains some interesting, eerie riffing that complements the lyrical content well, which remains mournful, wistful, and reflective. A quality track but not a stand out.
4. “But Here We Are” (4:43)
The title track for the album builds to another classic big Foos chorus where we see Dave letting it fly vocally for the first time on the album. The lyrics are a bit more cryptic that the opening three songs, but it becomes more apparent that we’re fully locked into a loose concept album about death, loss, and how you pick up the pieces afterwards. Another solid song with a great chorus. If it falls short anywhere, it’s during the verses.
5. “The Glass” (3:49)
Another track that we can safely say is about Taylor, though you could argue most of the songs relate to it somehow. It opens with acoustic guitar and a beautiful, earworm vocal melody line from Grohl – “I had a vision of you and just like that, I was left to live without it.” What follows is Dave’s most clever set of lyrics on the album, which use a metaphor of Taylor and himself looking at each other through a pane of glass. A beautifully written song that ranks as one of the best on the album.
6. “Nothing At All” (3:27)
Starting with an ‘80s style riff that The Romantics could have written, the song explodes at the chorus in a way that’s reminiscent of “Wind Up.” It alternates between those two extremes for the duration of the song. The lyrical themes reflect the stages of grief - “now that all the feeling is gone, it’s everything or nothing at all.” Another solid offering.
7. “Show Me How” (4:53)
Another song that begins with an ‘80s new wave vibe, “Show Me How” features Dave’s daughter Violet performing a duet with her dad. Subdued, thoughtful, and mournful – “I’ll take care of everything from now on.” It’s different from anything the band has ever done – and not in a bad way. The verses and chorus repeat and really don’t go anywhere, but both Grohl and his daughter give a great vocal performance. A sentimental track that is more meaningful than the sum of its parts.
8. “Beyond Me” (3:54)
A piano intro that honestly reminds me of the Beatles leads into Grohl providing another wonderful vocal melody. The lyrics are simple rhymes, bordering on clichés for loss, but they really work well within the song – “everything we love must grow old, so I’m told; you must release what you hold dear, so I fear.” The song builds from its modest piano beginnings to a beautiful crescendo at the chorus, with a simple solo that complements the song’s simple style. A great song.
9. “The Teacher” (10:04)
This is by far the longest track the band has ever written. For some context, prior to the events of 2022, the band had teased wanting to write a prog rock album, which might explain “The Teacher.” The title of the song also leads me to believe that this song has something to do with Dave’s mom. It starts slow and builds throughout to full blown rocker by the middle, with Dave repeating the same lyrics for a good portion of the song – “Hey kid what’s the plan for tomorrow?” It ebbs and flows from soft to heavy and contains a killer, dreamy ending riff, where Dave repeatedly wails “goodbye” over and over until turning to fuzz before abruptly ending. A very ambitious song, if nothing else, but there’s not enough here to justify it being ten minutes long.
10. “Rest” (5:33)
A heartfelt closer that largely features stripped down acoustic guitar and vocals that bring “Doll” to mind, I believe “Rest” is another song Dave wrote for his mom, though it’s not clear. A fuzzy, distortion kicks in for the final chorus – “rest….you can rest now” – before fading back to bare, sad acoustic. The album closes out with a message to the departed – “in the warm Virginia sun, there I will meet you.” Depressing and beautiful.
Overall Impressions
But Here We Are is an album that Dave Grohl needed to write. It is a beautiful tribute to two of the most important people in his life who he lost in 2022. The fact that he and the band were able to produce an album of this quality about a year after going through such a devastating event is as much a testament to their musical and creative acumen as it is to their resiliency as human beings. It reaffirms their statement about the healing power of music and the catharsis of creating a piece of art that will remain as a tribute to Taylor Hawkins and Virginia Grohl forever.
It’s not a perfect album by any stretch. There are times when the lyrics are repeated too frequently, or seem too simple. There are songs that don’t sound like traditional Foo Fighters songs that may put off the casual fan. But whatever shortcomings the album may have, they are overcome by the raw power of emotion you can feel from Grohl’s vocal performance when delivering them. But Here We Are showcases his versatility as a vocalist perhaps more than any other album the band has produced. The lyrics may be simple, but they are heartfelt and real.
Not bad for a drummer. (P.S. – Grohl also played all drums on the album, and very well at that).
There are classic Foo Fighter anthems on this album, but for me, the record really shines when the band takes it down a notch. The vocal melodies on “The Glass” and “Beyond Me” really stick with you after a few listens and show the band exploring a new element to their sound that wasn’t present before. It’s easily their best record since Wasting Light and is well worth your time.
Album Score: 7/10 fresh pots
Standout Tracks: “Under You,” “The Glass,” “Beyond Me,” “Rest”
Advice: You will need this record at some point in your life. Unfortunately, death and loss are unavoidable. As Dave put it in The Storyteller, before any of this happened:
“You cannot predict a person’s sudden passing, but there are certain people in life that you prepare yourself to lose, for whatever reason. You foolishly try to protect yourself by building a wall around your heart as a sort of preemptive defense mechanism so that when you get that call, you are prepared somehow. Like being emotionally vaccinated, you have already built up an immunity to their inevitable passing. But this never works.”
Hopefully the healing power of music does.
