The Foo Fighter’s songs will often punch you in the face with sound, and it’s my favorite thing about them. The Foo Fighters have always been masters of sound dynamics. Their songs will often go from very quiet to very loud within one second.

The theme of the sound dynamics throughout the Foo Fighters discography makes perfect sense considering lead singer David Grohl was heavily intertwined with the grunge movement of the 1990’s as the drummer for Nirvana.

Grunge was notorious for popularizing the sound dynamic of going from soft to hard and quiet to loud.

Though Grohl’s work with the Foo Fighters could not be described as grunge, it would make sense that he is still influenced by the dynamics that brought him into musical fame.

Their signature sound dynamic can be heard on my favorite Foo Fighter’s song, “The Pretender,” where the song at one point goes from a gentle guitar riff, to full on sound army.

The album of which “The Pretender” belongs, “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace,” was actually the last album that I cared for from the Foo Fighters. Their more recent efforts haven’t been grabbing my attention the same way. In terms of production, they are fine, but what I missed was my jaw being punched sonically.

Though the dynamics between loud and soft were featured on their last two efforts since “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace,” they just weren’t as severe as their past works. Luckily, on the Foo Fighter’s recent album, “Concrete and Gold,” the dynamics that my jaw has been missing are finally back.

There are very few songs on this album that don’t feature this dynamic, but there are certainly some that show it off more intensely than others.

Right off the bat, the first song of the album, “T-shirt,” begins with Grohl crooning over some soft guitar pickings about just wanting a simple life where all he cares about is his “t-shirt is clean.” This is immediately followed by a complete wall of sound that knocked the headphones out of my ears the first time I listened to it. It was unexpected and shocking, and that’s what made it so exciting.

“The Sky is a Neighborhood” also has its own sonic dynamics between hard and soft. Rather than the guitars, bass and drums taking the role of shifting the tone from quiet to loud, it’s Grohl’s voice at the beginning of the song that causes the sharp turn from delicate “ahh’s” being sung by a chorus in the background to his intense, gritty wail.

This album isn’t inherently groundbreaking. It is not doing anything new or experimental, but it offers a level of intensity that is undoubtedly refreshing. If you’re anything like me, sometimes music isn’t about the intricacies of tone and quality. Sometimes, it’s just about getting a left hook to the face with heavy, well produced sound.