Album Review: Foo Fighters, Your Favorite Toy

After exorcising plenty of ghosts on 2023’s But Here We Are, Dave Grohl has returned to a tried and trusted method on Your Favorite Toy, cranking the amps up to 11 and letting rip with a series of electrifying rockers. Always a tremendously fun band to listen to, Foo Fighters are in irresistible form, with the opening ‘Caught In The Echo’ a serious statement of intent.

Over scuzzy guitars and jerky rhythms – courtesy of ex-NIN drummer Ilan Rubin – Grohl howls, “Here comes the crash / Nobody here is truly free”. There’s more exhilarating rock action on ‘Of All People’, where over Motörhead-style guitars, the frontman pointedly sings, “Of all people you stay alive… No matter how fucking hard you try”.

Other standouts on this high octane collection, meanwhile, include the woozy, QOTSA-like rocker ‘Window’; the spiky guitars and thrashing drums of ‘If You Only Knew’; and the abrasive ‘Amen, Caveman’, where Grohl yells, “Too late, the damage is done”. But perhaps best of all is the berserk ‘Spit Shine’, which mixes drill-like guitar with stuttering drums, giving the feel of Devo playing Black Sabbath.

The record also boasts some introspective moments too, including the moody rockers ‘Unconditional’ and ‘Child Actor’, before the band sign off with the epic ballad ‘Asking For A Friend’. An addictive collection that – like most Foos records – demands repeat playing, this is easily one of the albums of the year.

9/10