One by One

Reviewed by:
David Peisner

Dave Grohl’s never hidden his love for the hard stuff. On his previous excursions, however, the Foo Fighters’ frontman balanced his rock jones with power-pop ballads—y’know, for the ladies. Now, for their workmanlike fourth album, the Foos put the pedal to the metal and rarely ease up, banging out one raucous stomp after another. Barbed guitar licks punctuate Grohl’s whispers and screams on the opener, “All My Life,” setting the frenetic pace. The Soundgarden-ish “Disenchanted Lullaby” is, er, disenchanted, but it’s hardly a lullaby, and even the decidedly down-tempo “Tired of You” has an edge aggressive enough to draw some blood. Granted, the continuous pounding gets a little stale, but just before they dig themselves into a punk-pop pigeonhole, the Foos restore our faith with the mesmerizing “Come Back.” Echoing the distortion-heavy tones of grunge pioneers Mother Love Bone, the swirling epic closes One by One with a bang, with Grohl hollering, “I will come back,” over and over as the guitars fade to black. We’ll be waiting.

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