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