Who knew ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl could write songs? Who knew he could sing? Actually, who knew anything about him --besides the fact that he drummed for the D.C. hardcore band Scream?
As it turns out Grohl has been playing guitar and writing songs for quite a while--including some written back when Nirvana's Nevermind came out. Why they never turned up until now is a mystery because when you take your first listen to the Foo Fighters debut your struck by how good it is. And pretty soon you stop trying to make Nirvana comparisons.
Grohl's voice is somewhat buried by fuzzy guitar, which is thankfully absent of any self-indulgent licks. At first listen the guitar wraps around his words delivering one neat package. Words and meaning on some tracks are about as elusive as the lyrics on R.E.M.'s Murmur.
But then you start to decipher some things. It seems that Grohl is interested in teen angst, much like his old band was. On "Alone+Easy Target" he sings "Crazy teen dreams/ might be true/ not what it seems.../ I want out, I'm alone/ and I'm an easy target." I was somewhat baffled after hearing "For All the Cows", but you think he has guts, when he sings "I'm called a cow/I'm not about to blow it now for all the cows/ for all the cows/ It's funny how/ money allows/all to browse and be endowed/ to be endowed." It's ironic that he mocks an industry that he didn't have to come back to and one that he probably doesn't have to depend on to put food on his table.
This record unfolds into a mixed bag of styles. Some songs like "Good Grief" rock like a Grant Hart Husker Du song, while others like "Big Me" sound like Pavement's "Range Life." You can also hear similarities to Nirvana, but Grohl hesitates making any comparisons to his previous band. While there is an ex-Nirvana members among the Foo Fighters tour, late-comer and ex-Germs guitarist Pat Smear, Grohl also included Nate Mendel and William Goldsmith from SUBPOP's now defunct band Sunny Day Real Estate.
I'm still not sure what Grohl's point of view is, but I like his tone. And besides, the album rocks.
