Dave Grohl cuts to the quick with an exciting slug of lean rock, says Stephen Moore.
Named after the Austin, Texas, hotel where it was recorded over two weekends, there’s a refreshing lack of gloss on this Butch Vig-produced clutch of tunes, given away free from this week (head to saintceciliaep.com).
Now dedicated to the victims of the Paris attacks, it was originally intended as a ‘thank you’ to fans and is leaner, meaner and cooler than Sonic Highways.
While the title track is a latter-day Foos FM-friendly track, Sean reveals a harder-edged guitar riff, ups the tempo and grins manically at the band’s brusque late-’90s beginnings.
It’s an hors d’ouevre for the rusty hacksaw guitar and shredded vocals of Saviour Breath, a visceral, turbo-charged yet tuneful belter boasting a stonking guitar solo that could have been plucked from the studio tapes of their debut.
Iron Rooster, a strummed ballad that sways gently in the breeze while exploring frustration, timidity and missed opportunities through the metaphor of a sculpture held against its will, gains extra poignancy and emotive clout in Paris’ wake.
The Neverending Sigh brings it back to 2015 with another slab of stadium-sized guitar riffs and Grohl’s trademark harmonic yells, bookending the EP with a nifty guitar solo outro.
Stripping out the guff and nailing some solid melodies reveals a revitalised Foos.
4/5 stars
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