Foo Fighters Run Wild And The Results Are Singularly Captivating

Not only is Foo Fighter leader Dave Grohl considered the nicest dude in rock he just might be able to add clown prince to that resume. The brand new single "Run" demonstrates how easily the band can go from subdued yet melodic to what has to be the closest they've come to outright heavy metal face melting. If the accompanying video doesn't have you holding your sides trying to contain the rib ache provoking laughter you're holding back on then you need either a girlfriend to loosen you up, an operation to install a funny bone, or a therapist to slap you around. The Foos go bonkers in an old folks home to impressive results. The opening bars don't prepare you for the psychotic eruption which transpires moments later. Pat Smear's guitar playing throws off any sign of restraint which works perfectly. Bassist Nate Mendel's work shines through the further along the drama gets. Taylor Hawkins blows away his peers in the drumming world. He'S lapping up the campy setting, elder beard and all. So now that you're acquainted with how the rhythms are bopping along what can we say about the lyrics Dave is weaving his way through? You get this undiluted urgency from lines like "Before the time runs out there's somewhere to run." Given the average age of the people in the video making hay while the sun shines sounds like a great idea. Dave insists "You can run with me if you wanted to." Hearing the band effortlessly go from one tempo to another in rapid succession reminds us all why Foo Fighters remains on the short list of bands necessary to keep the rock universe spinning around and around. I respect the pride with which Dave dives into his work. I also like the fact YouTube has a clip of his breaking up a fight in the crowd at one of his shows and subsequently kicks said person out. He's very approachable it would appear. So long as he and his bandmates keep lobbing juicy fruit like "Run" over our port bow there's little reason to think Foo Fighters won't command the rock population for years to come. Simply put "Run" builds up a head of steam that doesn't let up until the last note. It's the first praiseworthy jam of summer 2017.