The Foo Fighters released their ninth album on Friday, Sep.15, and with that comes a higher level of maturity. Concrete and Gold is constructed to place emphasis on societal issues, a mix of past heartbreak and focus on the future.
Dave Grohl, singer and songwriter, shows fans what may be his personal best in music. The album flows nicely, touching on many different aspects of life, both catchy and relatable.
The first track, “T-Shirt,” prominently sets the mood for the album. While short in length, the song emphasizes the unimportance of fame, stating “I just want to sing a love song, pretend like nothing’s wrong.” A sense of maturity is present here, capitalizing on the ability of music to establish one’s worth and ease personal tensions.
The track “Run” emphasizes the importance of making our limited time on earth count. Grohl sings, “before the time runs out, there’s somewhere to run.” It is important to note that there is not a suggested place to run — this destination is rather up to the individual, as implied by the track.
The music video for “Run” is set in a nursing home where the elders are eager to get out of their routinely state and live in accordance to their dreams.
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Following suit with this theme, “Make It Right” centers around the idea of making the best out of one’s life in the time given. Here, the unknown, flexible destination is still used as a motif: “hop on the train to nowhere.” In this track, Grohl also mentions that “everybody needs a little suffer,” hinting at the idea that to make things right, there is work involved.
Switching issues, “The Sky is a Neighborhood” introduces the new phenomenon of life inhabiting every realm of the planet that we know and even space. However, this idea makes Grohl cautious, because with the current state of our planet, we need to work on protecting it to the best of our ability. “So keep it down… don’t make a sound,” and other verses throughout the tune emphasize the idea of leaving a small footprint on our universe, and possibly expanding our footsteps to other realms.
Two tracks showcase past love and possible heartbreak. “Arrows” speaks of a girl that is”alone on a dead end street.” In another line, Grohl sings, “Fear where her heart should be.” It is evident that Grohl cared deeply for this individual, but maybe could not handle his or her inconsistency and helplessness.
“Sunday Rain” expands on past love as he pleads, “don’t leave me drowning in your sunday rain.” Here, Grohl is vocal with his “first mistake [of] believing” and he speaks on being hurt by this experience. It seems as though this lover left him in the dark.
The last two songs conclude the album with envisions of love in the future. “The Line” discusses fighting for one’s life with passion because “everything’s on the line this time.” It is evident that Grohl is not taking any chances this time around, as he “satellite [searches] for a sign of life like you.”
Perhaps he found said life, as “Concrete and Gold” speaks of a relationship as “something so beautiful…up through the concrete we will grow.” Here, Grohl makes it clear that the amount of faith he has in himself and his relationship is strong, and perhaps none of the societal factors mentioned throughout the album will stop them.
While Concrete and Gold suggests that our time is running out, The Foo Fighters give great advice on how to make the best of it. While some lyrics still show signs of looking at the past, it is important to note that this band shows even greater signs of preparing for what is to come.
