But Here We Are is simultaneously thought-provoking and head-bang-inspiring. The 11th studio album from the rock legends Foo Fighters, But Here We Are, out on June 2nd, might just be the album of 2023 for me.
From the beginning to today
In 1994, Dave Grohl began making music under the pseudonym, Foo Fighters, in an effort to remain anonymous and give the impression of a large band. It was only ever supposed to be a limited run — but, due to the interest the demo drew from record labels, the phenomenon of Foo Fighters was born. Grohl took the name for Foo Fighters from a term used in World War II by Allied aircraft pilots for any unidentified flying objects and mysterious planes, leading to the majority of Foo Fighters’ merchandise, iconography, and symbolism being aviation related.
Mysterious aerial phenomena have inspired a wide range of media over the years — from TV shows like Manifest and Lost, to online casino games like Cloud Corsairs, Starmada Exiles, Frequent Flyer, and the Aviator Slot at Paddy Power — which draw upon the same supernatural and mystical elements. With Aviator, for example, the plane will take off and fly higher and higher, gradually increasing the multiplier and potential rewards to the player. However, the plane could disappear at any time – just as in popular supernatural aviation-based fiction.
This sentiment of unpredictability and superhuman imagery is mirrored in one of Foo Fighters’ biggest hits — “Learn to Fly” — with reference to the angels and the devil, and the chorus of “I’m lookin’ to the sky to save me, Lookin’ for a sign of life, Lookin’ for somethin’ to help me burn out bright.” The chorus ends with “Make my way back home when I learn to fly” — the new album, But Here We Are, shows that they’ve done just that, and is just one of the many references back to their previous discography.
The past, the present, the future
One of the most poignant is the lyrics “Late at night I tell myself nothing this good could last forever,” harking back to their iconic track Everlong’s “I wonder […] if everything could ever be this real forever, if anything could ever be this good again.” After all, the year that the band has faced, it is no surprise that But Here We Are is tinged with heartbreak and loss, yet still sets out to celebrate the band’s memories over the years.
In fact, But Here We Are is dedicated to those the band has lost — drummer Taylor Hawkins, and Grohl’s mom Virginia — commemorating their influences, and beginning to pave a path forward from the pain. In true Foo Fighters’ style, this means that, even when there’s a certain air of melancholy, it is always contrasted with melodious riffs, infectious hooks, and genre-breaking composition.
No one track on But Here We Are is remotely the same – or, indeed, akin to anything they’ve done before. From the beach-and-waves sound of Under You, to the elegant and fragile The Teacher, the exposed acoustic Rest, Brit-Pop-infused Nothing at All, and the epic Rescued, But We Are Here might be Foo Fighters’ most experimental album yet.
