CD of The Week

Foo Fighters - Saint Cecilia EP (Roswell / RCA)

The past year has been perhaps the craziest yet in the Foo Fighters’ 20 year history. The rockers closed out 2014 with the release of their Sonic Highways project, which combined an eight-part HBO mini-series and an eight-song album into one big look at the history of music throughout the U.S. The Foos planned to spend 2015 on a world tour celebrating 20 years as a band. Then Dave Grohl broke his leg onstage in Europe. Plans changed and their frontman spent much of the year in a cast while rocking from an insane custom-made throne.

While in Austin (a city they recorded in for Sonic Highways) for this fall’s Austin City Limits Festival, the Foos quickly booked some studio time, invited some pals (including friend-of-Y-Not Ben Kweller) and recorded the brand-new Saint Ceclia EP. The band gave it away online last week to celebrate the end of their touring (you can read Grohl’s extensive letter to the fans, as well as his somber thoughts on the Paris attacks, at FooFighters.com).

These five songs were quickly recorded in a matter of days, and written based off of pieces of older, unfinished Foo tunes and riffs. The title track (named after a gorgeous hotel in Austin) could come from any era of the band, thanks to its classic, melodic hook. “Sean” charges straight ahead with some powerful, punky riffs from their multi-pronged guitar attack. “Savior Breath” (get it?) is a rager with some Motörhead influence, and ranks with “White Limo” among their heaviest songs.

“Iron Rooster” is only moment the EP really slows down, with those signature double-tracked Grohl vocals that are a staple of their mid-tempo songs. It all wraps up with “The Neverending Sigh,” which further gives credence to the origins of these songs, as its guitar tones would’ve fit in way back on The Colour and The Shape.

Saint Cecilia is a streamlined jolt of concentrated Foo Fighters, compared to the overlong songs on Sonic Highways. We’re saying goodbye to the Fighters of Foo for a little while, as they take some much-deserved time off, but this is a great stocking stuffer from one of the biggest Rock bands around.
Review by Joey O.