Similar pop songwriting ideals of the debut album, but the hooks are bigger and the production is cleaner. Loses the more lo-fi, garage-y, punk feel of the debut that made it so charming. Almost all songs are midtempo, and there’s only two types of songs: brash rockers and strummed mellow electric guitar ballads. The latter might sound good for the pacing of the album, offering up more variety, but it does the opposite because said songs are simply fuckin’ boring and without the large rock instrumentation they end up highlighting Dave Grohl’s mediocre lyrics. These days I skip ’em. The best songs are totally the singles, with the exception of Walking After You, being one of those dull filler ballads.

Still a good album even if I prefer the two that border it. The Colour and the Shape was the album that ushered in the new generation of hard rock, and all the good and bad that came with it. Though Foo Fighters are still much better than any band they inspired, so there’s that. And while I never listen to modern rock radio, I’m still thankful I will never have to grow up in a world where KISS and AC/DC are omnipresent.