Upon wrapping the supporting tour for 2014's
Sonic Highways
,
Foo Fighters
holed up in the Hotel Saint Cecilia off of South Congress in Austin, Texas and cut the five songs that became 2015's
Saint Cecilia EP
. Effectively, this breakneck 18-minute EP acts as a retort to the widescreen vistas of
. Where that record stretched out, sometimes upwards of seven minutes, this EP happily rushes through its tunes; even the slower "Iron Rooster" -- featuring a cameo from
Gary Clark, Jr.
-- doesn't feel fussy. This song alone is proof that
Saint Cecilia
isn't a "punk" EP but it's something better: it's
shaking off the big concepts that they deliberately shouldered on
, winding up with a fun, infectious little record that offers a reminder of all the ways they're an excellent rock band. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine