The Foo Fighters are gearing up for… something. The veteran band appeared to tease their next era this week when their official website turned into a high school rocker’s bedroom festooned with rock posters that serve as interactive previews of new songs, amid piles of CDs and a clump of dirty clothes.
In a nod to old web 1.0 technology, fans can tool around on the landing page and discover the hidden clips by hovering or clicking on the wall full of images of the band in the studio and on stage. And while none of the song titles are currently available, last month lead singer/guitarist Dave Grohl confirmed a new LP is on the way during a one-off show at UTAS Stadium in Tasmania.
“We might have a whole new record of f–king songs that we just finished the other day,” Grohl told the audience in the first public confirmation about a follow-up to 2023’s But Here We Are. On their Instagram page, the band wrote “consider this an evaluation,” along with a shot of the bedroom.
From sounds of it, the group’s 12th studio album is a ripper. Going from left to right, one brief clip is mostly just Grohl screeching what sounds like “Decide, decide decide/ Do I, do I, do I,” over spare guitar before the drums kick in. Right next to that is a bouncy pop number whose wordless refrain is classic Foos, and just below is one in which Grohl repeats “turn the cameras on” over a rising beat. Underneath is a mid-tempo tune in which Grohl sings, “unconditional, it’s unconditional” over a driving beat, just above a poster that features the repeated phrase “Do you want more???,” perhaps hinting at the title of the album.
A picture of new drummer Ilan Rubin — with a picture of currently injured guitarist Pat Smear on the bass drum — unveils another driving rock tune, though none of the lyrics are included. Right next to that is a showcase for Rubin’s frenetic playing in the form of a furious pattern over slashing guitars. An image of a seated Smear in the studio previews a whipsawing rocker, while a snippet near the bottom of the page gives a sneak of one of the more sedate songs, with Grohl singing, “Lately I don’t hear a sound,” over a midtempo groove.
The mood cranks back up to furious chaos when you click on a pic of a smiling Grohl sitting in bed, his screaming bleeding out over a chorus of “na, na, na”‘s. Eagle-eyed fans might also notice a subtle tribute to late drummer Taylor Hawkins in the bottom right corner in the form of his signature hawk logo, which changes from black to bright colors surrounded by stars when you click on it; the beloved drummer died at age 50 in 2022 when the Foos were on tour in Colombia.
Earlier this week the band posted what sounded like a smash cut of new songs on Instagram, cryptically writing “of a broken broadcast system” and on Feb. 4 they shared another mega-mix of uptempo rockers with the message “this is just a test.”
At press time no additional information was available on the album’s title or release date.
