Foo Fighters' But Here We Are: From Denial to Acceptance

by Kiera Gower

The Foo Fighters have released their new album But Here We Are. This is their first release since the passing of drummer, Taylor Hawkins. The loss of Hawkins has been felt tremendously throughout not only the band, but the music industry and its fans. Grohl also lost his mother in mid-2022. These losses are felt throughout the entire album. Listeners hear the pain of Grohl in his singing and in the words that he is belting.

The five stages of grief (denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance) are dealt with in the music and lyrics. What I found to be my favorite part of this album is that the songs do not go in the order of these stages. The album grapples with the fact that grief is not linear. It is heartbreakingly beautiful how the pain of such a tragic year was put into these ten songs. For me, it feels that this album is a way for the band to connect to fans in their insurmountable loss.

Photo: Andreas Neumann