Medicine at Midnight

Foo Fighters - Medicine at Midnight
Critic Score
Based on 33 reviews
2021 Ratings: #656 / 753
User Score
Based on 972 ratings
2021 Rank: #954
Liked by 46 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
AllMusic

Medicine at Midnight is a speedy, hooky, and efficient record, every bit the party album Grohl promised.

90
Classic Rock

As a modern rock melting pot, Medicine certainly sounds like a spirit rediscovered.

80
musicOMH

This is a characteristically strong, uncharacteristically sloppy (in a good way!), album by one of the few remaining shining lights of rock music. Greatness is almost a given at this stage.

80
The Forty-Five

The band have managed to combine all of their strengths with a few entertaining new sounds, fully aware that straight-forward rock’n’rollicking fun is what we all badly need at the moment.

80
Albumism

Medicine At Midnight affords Foo Fighters another stadium-ready set of songs.

80
Spill Magazine

In many ways, Medicine At Midnight may be their most surprising and unique album to date that ultimately furthers the range and power of the Foo Fighter’s as both performers and songwriters.

80
Kerrang!

It’s an exhibition of just what a simply, fundamentally good band Foo Fighters are, and how skilled with a tune and a melody Dave Grohl is.

80
Clash

Celebratory to the bone, the tenth Foo Fighters recording adventure is a bit like finding yourself on the best rollercoaster ride in town on a hot summer day, joyously terrifying in places, it ends well.

80
Rolling Stone

The Foos’ 10th album is upbeat even by their uniquely well-adjusted standards, returning to their core Nineties alt-rock sound minus any gimmicks, detours, or shenanigans.

80
DIY

With sticky melodies and a spring in its step, ‘Medicine At Midnight’ is an experiment that pays off, simultaneously adding a new shade to their sound and injecting a dose of fun and escapism when we need it most.

80
NME

It's slinky. It's shimmery. It gets a bit Bowie and boasts one of the best songs they've ever recorded. Album 10 is the soundtrack to the summer we all crave.

75
Paste

At a brief 36 minutes long, Medicine at Midnight is a solid addition to a discography that raises the bar for what it means to be a rock act that seamlessly evolves with the times.

75
Consequence of Sound

An essential listen for fans and a fair introduction for newcomers, Medicine at Midnight feels like the rare late-career release that genuinely earns its spots within the legacy setlist.

70
Exclaim!

Medicine at Midnight isn't good because of the ways it pushes the envelope, but because of how upholds the band's status as rock torchbearers. This is the Foos doing what they do best.

70
PopMatters

Medicine at Midnight finds Foo Fighters flirting with danceable rhythms and pop melodies. It's a fun album but might be polarizing just the same.

70
Uncut

They may have opened out their map a little more for Medicine At Midnight, but the Foos’ territory remains reassuringly familiar.

70
Louder Than War

While Medicine At Midnight may not hold so many bright golden moments as their best work, it’s great to hear that the good times are still rolling with them.

70
American Songwriter

The new record is clearly an attempt to not only maintain their loyal legions, but also to expand their following through a more melodic MO.

70
Gigwise

Compared to the relative safety of Concrete and Gold, Medicine at Midnight feels like a revelation. A more playful, experimental side of the Foo Fighters that we haven’t seen in years.

68
Spectrum Culture

Foo Fighters are great at what they do, which means we get another set of quality rock, but with few surprises

64
Sputnikmusic

This is a decent return for the band and it should quench any Foo Fighters fan's thirst.

60
Under the Radar

Whether fans will love these songs or not depends on how open-minded they are when they hit play on a new Foo Fighters record.

60
The Arts Desk

The Foo Fighters have changed the chassis, not the engine; the style, not the soul. But Medicine at Midnight is still a rejuvenating detour, en route to the familiar packed fields which will one day complete it.

60
FLOOD Magazine

Medicine at Midnight reminds us that no matter how long you’ve been around, there’s no time like the present to reinvent yourself.

60
Dork
Though at times they push their own tightly drawn boundaries, that experimentation feels so far from the horizons others inhabit they only emphasise what Foo Fighters have become: a classic band, for fans of the good old days. There’s nothing wrong with that, but perhaps it’s time for someone new to sit upon rock’s throne.
60
Mojo

Grohl has never hidden his love for the Big Rock Moves, but the absence of punk rock's intimacy leaves Medicine At Midnight feeling off-balance.

60
The Guardian

Dave Grohl’s band keep changing their methods but the results sound the same, even as they aim at David Bowie disco on their first LP since 2017.

50
The Needle Drop
Medicine at Midnight sees Foo Fighters continuing to lose their edge.
47
Pitchfork
Dave Grohl’s lawful-good lifestyle presents an eternal conflict between being unable to hate the guy and being unable to enjoy the music he continues to make.
40
The Sydney Morning Herald

Medicine at Midnight is the sound of a band trying to go pop and using too much hot air to get there.

40
The Irish Times
Their surefire-hit approach is on the brink of extinction, so an ailing music industry worships them like a modern Beatles. Foo Fighters make music that’s so average, it’s almost an accomplishment initself.
30
The Young Folks
It’s ironic that the worst of the worst are what give the album its personality, but without them it’d be boring—instead, it’s amusing for the wrong reasons.
Chode
40

It seems that the foo have won.

When I was twelve I performed a fart experiment. I wanted to capture an undiluted fart in a jar and see if after a month it still smelled. I ate some hotdogs and pizza, then had a lot of ice cream. These were all foods known to induce flatulence in me. Then I waited. I could feel my stomach rumbling as the noxious gasses inside me brewed. I filled a bathtub full of water, got my jar with a tightly fitting lid, took off my clothes and got in. I put the jar under ... read more

PipePanic
44

Dave.

For all of our sakes, just stop. Stop trying to make horrid renditions of pop-rock tracks you could have made work 20 years ago. Stop trying to make the same brand of arena rock you have been forcing down everyones throat for the last decade, with only one album I'd say even works in that style.

Stop. Take some time. And make something else. Because I can't stand THIS anytime soon.

Favorite Jam: Waiting on a War

Lest Favorites: Medicine at Midnight, Cloudspotter, Chasing Birds

Nightwing734
75

*Dave Grohl voice*
I’VE GOT ANOTHER CONFESSION TO MAKE

I like this new Foo Fighters album quite a lot :)

(Disclaimer: I listened to this a couple of days before it was officially out)

(Also be prepared, this is a long one)

Foo Fighters is an alternative rock band founded in 1994, by former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl and was initially a one-man project. After the first album called ‘’Foo Fighters’’ was released in 1995 (which Dave made almost entirely by ... read more

tompa
52

This is mid. The experimentation works on a few tracks, but on others, you can really tell the boys were like 55.

67

After Wasting Light, Foo Fighters' discography could be said to have entered a sort of decline. Sonic Highways is boring as hell, Concrete And Gold isn't much better and then there's Medicine At Midnight. I will admit that at the time it seemed like a 7 to me, but it was a matter of time before I realized that things were not so. It is bad? No, but it is not something particularly notable. It's mainly Dave Grohl and his guys doing things in an okay way, but without much to say. What I am going ... read more

SLT
81

This album felt calming, and it was kind of odd. I'm used to Mr. Grohl screaming in my ears. This wasn't too bad, I don't know why people rate all this so low.

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Track List

1Making A Fire
4:15
66
2Shame Shame
4:17
60
3Cloudspotter
3:53
58
4Waiting On A War
4:13
71
5Medicine At Midnight
3:29
64
6No Son Of Mine
3:28
68
7Holding Poison
4:24
62
8Chasing Birds
4:12
61
9Love Dies Young
4:21
64
Total Length: 36 minutes
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Added on: November 8, 2020