Foo Fighters

November 8, 1999
Web posted at: 12:34 p.m. EST (1734 GMT)

By David John Farinella
Special to CNN Interactive

Foo Fighters
There Is Nothing Left To Lose
(Roswell Records/RCA)

(CNN) -- "There Is Nothing Left To Lose," the Foo Fighters' third release in five years, pushes the band from punk extremes to polished radio hits to the ambitious grandeur of "Aurora." And in the span of 11 songs, Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighter compatriots prove that enthusiasm does not have to fade with the arrival of maturity.

Recorded in Grohl's self-built home studio, "There Is Nothing Left To Lose" opens with the energizing "Stacked Actors" and "Breakout." Though the two songs don't necessarily set the mood for the balance of the offering, they give the illusion of a gelled band.

Joining guitarist/singer/drummer Grohl on the album are bassist Nate Mendel and drummer Taylor Hawkins. As proof of their tight relationship, "Stacked Actors" opens with a drum and bass groove that breaks into a punk rant midstream and then devolves into a cacophony of distorted guitars, fuzz bass and an aspiring drum solo.

"Breakout," on the flip side, is a revved-up number in which Grohl's guitar playing blends a surf-like vibe with punk energy and the rhythm section powers through the entire song. Both work because of the band's energy and respect for each other.

	AUDIO
"Learn To Fly" [185k MPEG-3] or [255k WAV] "Aurora" [205k MPEG-3] or [280k WAV] "Headwires" [200k MPEG-3] or [275k WAV] (Courtesy RCA Records)

While the album's openers turn up the volume, it's songs like the radio hit "Learn To Fly," "Generator," and "M.I.A." that aptly display Grohl's growing comfort with the art of songwriting. He's developed into a musician unafraid to experiment with textures and lyrical themes.

The Foo Fighters' multi-platinum eponymous debut showed his songwriting promise. The 1997 sophomore release "The Colour and the Shape" displayed his evolution. This album is packed with actualized potential.

It's interesting to note that on this release, Grohl spends just as much time turning to his punk rock-playing roots as he does his mid-'70s music appreciation days. What else could explain the talk box on "Generator," the Southern-rock opening vibe of "Gimme Stitches," or even the country seasonings of "Ain't It The Life"?

Experimental, sure. Yet it's songs like "Generator" and the throwaways "Live-In Skin" and "Next Year" that find the band playing it safe. The passion, intensity and even a sense of ordered chaos that sets other songs apart is lost.

As "There Is Nothing Left To Lose" progresses, listeners get a chance to hear Grohl stretch both his musical ideas and his singing abilities. Though he's not a seven-octave kind of singer (and it should be pointed out he doesn't have to be in this band), the closing tracks of this release give him the chance to actually sing. There's no way Grohl circa 1995 would have even attempted a song like "Ain't It The Life," let alone the evocative closer "M.I.A."

Three albums into the Foo Fighters catalog, Grohl has already battled the poisons of hype, hit songs and band dramas. With "There Is Nothing Left To Lose" he and the band have violently pushed all that aside. Thankfully they remember why they're together in the first place. To paraphrase the politicos: "It's the music, stupid." Indeed.