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Foo Fighters<\/a>‘ 2023 album,\u00a0But Here We Are<\/a>,<\/em>\u00a0was\u00a0stamped with the recent deaths of band drummer Taylor Hawkins<\/a> and\u00a0Dave Grohl<\/a>‘s beloved, supportive mom.\u00a0The result was a meditative work about loss and moving on from tragedy; it wasn’t exactly closure for this rough time, but it was as close\u00a0as they would allow themselves to get.<\/p>\n The period leading up to the Foos’ 12th album,\u00a0Your Favorite Toy<\/em>, has been equally strained by personal and professional shakeups, including Grohl’s admission of infidelity (which resulted in a daughter) and the firing of Hawkins’ replacement, Josh Freese.\u00a0But these incidents seemed to have awakened another side of the band \u2014 a looser, rowdier and more volatile side.<\/span><\/p>\n Foo Fighters have been down this path before, most notably in 2011’s Wasting Light<\/em>, one of their best records.\u00a0But this time\u00a0Your Favorite Toy<\/em>\u00a0is more of a reaction to the tone and music of\u00a0But Here We Are<\/em>, which is also one of the group’s finest works.<\/span>\u00a0And because of that, Grohl and company sound more committed to their cause; if loud,\u00a0aggressive Foo Fighters are your favorite\u00a0type of Foo Fighters, this album does the trick.<\/p>\n READ MORE:<\/strong> Other 2026 Album Reviews<\/a><\/p>\n Look no further than the opening one-two punch of “Caught in the Echo” and “Of All People.” “This is just a test of a broken broadcast system<\/em>,” Grohl screams at the start of the former, signaling\u00a0Your Favorite Toy<\/em>‘s intent. At times, the music isn’t too far removed from Grohl’s teenage hardcore band, Scream, or from groups like Bad Brains and Husker Du<\/a> that were influences early in his career.<\/p>\n It goes on like this\u00a0for the next 35 minutes, as Grohl and Foo Fighters exorcise their latest demons. There’s a sameness to\u00a0Your Favorite Toy<\/em>, but punk was rarely about straying from its scene. (“Window” and “Child Actor” come closer to the radio-endorsed alternative rock the group is best known for.) In the album’s longest song, the closing “Asking for a Friend,”\u00a0Grohl sings, “Lay your worry down<\/em>,”\u00a0in a\u00a0maybe futile attempt to convince himself as much as anyone else.\u00a0It’s a near-perfect summation of Foo Fighters in 2026.<\/p>\n The first 25 years of the 2000s reveal the progression and nostalgia of the undying genre.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Gallery Credit: Michael Gallucci<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nFrom David Bowie and Radiohead to Wilco and the Strokes: The Top 25 Albums of the 21st Century (So Far)<\/h2>\n