Tuesday Triple Threat: Foos, Sons, and DMB

Swiss composer Arthur Honegger is often quoted as saying that the world doesn’t want new music, and, in many cases, that outlook is achingly accurate. People like what they like without others trying to force something unfamiliar into their routine.

For me, new music is a must. While I love the Sabbaths, Zeppelins, and Floyds of the world to death, building a proper collection requires one to extend beyond the familiar and enter into territories that you wouldn’t normally mess with.

I’m starting a new feature here on the site called Tuesday Triple Threat that will feature three albums released on or around the previous Friday and my thoughts as to whether or not they’re worth listening to.

Let’s get started.

Foo Fighters – “But Here We Are”

It almost sounds cruel to say that the first album following the death of Taylor Hawkins is the best thing the Foos have done in years, but there’s really no way around it for me. Grief can be a catalyst for creativity and Dave Grohl and Co. have channeled theirs into a raw celebration of everything that made Taylor’s years with the band so unforgettable. Already a Top-5 addition to the catalog.

Rival Sons – “Darkfighter”

Jay Buchanan howls to the heavens on the band’s barnstorming seventh album, so do yourself a favor and immerse yourself in all of its fuzz-filled ’70s swagger. If a cornucopia of influences such as Free, Howlin Wolf, and Sly and the Family Stone sounds appealing to you, you’ll take to these guys in no time.

Dave Matthews Band – “Walk Around the Moon”

I’ve had conversations with people about the idea of not being a true fan of a band if your favorite album of theirs is considered an outlier and I think I’ve reached that point with DMB. As much as I adore the first three, nothing they’ve released since the dawn of the new millennium has resonated with me in any conceivable way. They haven’t sounded like the ’90s since then and fail to rekindle any of that magic on this “Walk Around the Moon” outside of “Madman’s Eyes,” which itself doesn’t sound like anything else on the record. All dread and no sway makes Dave a dull boy.