Medicine at Midnight

by Foo Fighters

Overview

Right before its release in early 2021, Dave Grohl called Medicine at Midnight the Foo Fighters' "Saturday Night party album" -- a self-evaluation that turns out to be pretty accurate. It also functions as an acknowledgment of an open secret within the band's catalog: for all their attributes, the Foos have rarely been "fun." Foo Fighters fix that deficit by diving head on into disco and dance, the syncopations and polyrhythms so dominating Medicine at Midnight that the four-on-the-floor rock & roll ravers almost seem diminished in comparison. Dance-rock isn't necessarily the height of exploration -- the Rolling Stones cut disco the second they could back in the 1970s -- but Foo Fighters have adhered to rock & roll basics for so long, the shift in rhythms seems nearly as giddy as the group's unexpected celebration of the power of the hook. Big riffs battle with the kind of nagging singalong choruses the band have avoided over the years, a combination that makes Medicine at Midnight rush by with the intoxication of a good night out. Ballads are still part of the equation -- there's "Waiting on a War," a reflection of a lifetime spent in the shadow of combat that builds to a cathartic crescendo, plus the dreamy "Chasing Bird," which is the closest Foo Fighters have ever come to soul -- but they provide necessary breathing room on a record that needs a brief respite from the relentless velocity of the rockers. The speed is crucial to the album's appeal, of course: Medicine at Midnight is a speedy, hooky, and efficient record, every bit the party album Grohl promised. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/05/2021
Label:	Rca
UPC:	0194397883619
Rank:	20889

Tracks

1. Making A Fire
2. Shame Shame
3. Cloudspotter
4. Waiting On A War
5. Medicine At Midnight
6. No Son Of Mine
7. Holding Poison
8. Chasing Birds
9. Love Dies Young

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Foo Fighters   Primary Artist
Inara George   Vocals (Background)
Alma Fernandez   Viola
Omar Hakim   Percussion
Greg Kurstin   Strings
Charlie Bisharat   Violin
Songa Lee   Violin
Barbara Gruska   Vocals (Background)
Laura Mace   Vocals (Background)
Samantha Sidley   Vocals (Background)
Jacob Braun   Cello
Violet Grohl   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Taylor Hawkins   Group Member
Chris Shiflett   Group Member
Pat Smear   Group Member
Dave Grohl   Group Member
Foo Fighters   Composer,Producer
Mark "Spike" Stent   Mixing
Nate Mendel   Group Member
Darrell Thorp   Engineer
Rami Jaffee   Group Member
Greg Kurstin   Engineer,Producer
Shari Sutcliffe   Production Coordination
Alex Pasco   Engineer
Randy Merrill   Mastering
Andreas Neumann   Photography
Julian Burg   Engineer
Matt Wolach   Assistant
Kel Lauren   Cover Art
Cathryn Krauel   Management
Lee Johnson   Management