Album Review: In Your Honor by Foo Fighters

Although it was as big a commercial success as Foo Fighters' three previous albums, 2002's One by One seemed flat and tired, as if their leader, Dave Grohl, had reached a songwriting slump or as if the band had exhausted its possibilities. The time was ripe for a reinvention, or at least a risk, and the group responded accordingly with In Your Honor, a double album containing one disc of hard rock and one disc of acoustic material. Splitting music along such a clear dividing line is dangerous: since each disc explores one specific territory, each could sound monochromatic, but instead of falling into this trap, Foo Fighters benefit from these self-imposed constraints.

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Considering Dave Grohl's provenance, as a member of the band that gave Generation X-ers something to really mope about, he has evolved into a surprisingly balanced veteran. The Nirvana-drummer-turned-Foo-singer and his backing trio are the essence of populist rockers, bursting with the sort of anthems Bon Jovi don't write any more. The current single, Best of You, captures their stubbly, air-punching joie de vivre as emphatically as earlier mini-classics like This Is a Call.

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