Rank: 3/5
The Foo Fighters released “Saint Cecilia EP,” a short five-track release that embraces the rough roots of the band, while expanding on Dave Grohl’s most recent project, Sound City.
Grohl’s vocal melodies sound slightly low in the mix in contrast with the drums and rhythm guitar, which gives the overall sound a more polished but impersonal feel.
“Saint Cecilia” seems somewhat over produced in this respect, as if the sound engineer felt it was necessary to make each track sparkle, when some tracks would have retained a sense of balance with less mixing.
The pulse of each track is similar, and only the chorus of “Sean” sticks out as memorable between the stock rock sounds and dampered screams from the rest of this EP.
“Sean” sounds like a polished jam in reference to earlier Foo Fighters songs but not well-written enough to truly compete with any of their older hits.
The band hasn’t experimented with its sound enough to change the pop-rock label they are commonly associated with, but on “Savior Breath”, the tempo becomes faster and the sound shifts to a semi-punk runoff. This song is below the rest because of the run of the mill sound it carries, leaving little to the imagination or variation.
“The Neverending Sigh” has a slower, modulated opening, which then pops right into another standard Foo Fighters verse, chorus and bridge, neither horrible nor outstanding. The problem with this tactic is the vital structure that once helped songs sell is weakened by overuse.
While this formula may work for many other artists, it grows increasingly stale and devoid of realism as time passes. During each song, the music feels as if every key, scale and tone Grohl writes within are the same for nearly every song he’s released with the Foo Fighters.