Dave Grohl's most important lesson from his Nirvana days has surely been that mastering the quieter moments is key to the power of the louder ones, and that songs that never leave acoustic can still rock hard. Where this sixth album wins for adult listeners is in the way that it combines the best of both the rock and acoustic discs of In Your Honour - the straight out rockers and the more contemplative songs. A hugely charismatic front man, making what is possibly the genre's most accessible indie metal/ rock, Grohl kicks off with one of those Foo Fighters' immediate classics in The Pretender. This is an excellent song that could only be this band - a great example of tune-led rock, and intelligent dynamics. Then Let It Die allows the gauges to drop a notch as it kicks off quietly before building back up to an anthemic chorus. Echoes won't please everyone - it is perhaps more tame than the grunge fans would like, but it's a whole lot more mature as a result.

It never veers close to Athlete or Feeder, always maintaining a razor edge. The first completely acoustic track, Stranger Things Have Happened is delicious unplugged rock, and the segue into video/ radio friendly Cheer Up Boys is pure class. Ballad of the Beaconsfield Miners is instrumental acoustic, building on the guitar on Razor from In Your Honour. Like Green Day, the Foos have earned their place on the podium with simply great rock, and Echoes is a great Foo Fighters album. Album of the week.

4/5

Mike Rea

Site - http://www.foofighters.com

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