Listen up party people. If you consider yourself a Foo Fighters fan of any measure, do yourself a favor: stop reading this review and go buy a copy of Wasting Light. You’ll thank me later. For everyone else, if you’re a fan of straight-up, no-pretense rock and roll, you should follow suit. Drop this crappy attempt at describing a phenomenal album and just go get it.

If you’re still sticking around, debating like a small child over whether it’s worth parting with your hard earned money, allow me to make your decision a little easier. This is a record that oozes kick-assery, rock prowess, and the combined energy of veterans who are the top of their collective game. Foo Fighters have returned to us after a blessedly short hiatus with revitalized sense of purpose and sound. I’m a huge fan of this band and I’m thrilled that this album rocks from front to back.

To be clear, I’m not one of those naysayers that thinks that they sucked as soon as The Colour and The Shape started fading into the distance. I’ve seen a number of reviews and op-ed pieces talking as if Wasting Light is somehow a renaissance of a band that’s been in hibernation since the late 90s. I think every Foo Fighters release has been solid, with songs on each album that most rock bands would kill to create. I absolutely love There Is Nothing Left To Lose. I don’t buy the argument that One By One is somehow a lesser record, though I guess it would be hard to argue with Mr. Grohl himself, who’s said that he doesn’t care for most of that album in retrospect. The same (in terms of my opinion, not his) goes for In Your Honor and Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace.

All that being said, I do think that Wasting Light crackles with a renewed sense of energy and cohesion. It just flat-out rocks. The songs move at a good clip, flowing well from one to the next. Dave Grohl has made much ado about the fact that this was recorded as a literal garage album (in his own garage) to analog tape. While it was mastered digitally, it would certainly seem like these changes in their creative process contributed to the overall passion evident throughout the record.

If I had one complaint, it would be that I was hoping that more of the album would sound like “White Limo,” the first track to be officially released (with an appropriately goofy video). When I first heard it, I thought someone had found a lost song ripped straight from the self-titled debut. It just sounded so raw and dirty. Sadly, it’s the only track like that here. The flipside of this coin is that the rest of the songs sound like a walk down memory lane from the remaining parts of Foo discography. In essence, Wasting Light plays like the Fighters’ greatest hits, only we get the privilege of having 11 brand new songs (12 if you count the bonus b-side from the deluxe edition), instead of just revisiting the old classics.

To bring this full circle, I’ll simply say again what I said at the beginning: get this record. It’s awesome.