As Sheryl Crow once informed us, a change will do you good. It sure seems to have worked for Dave Grohl.

The Foo Fighters frontman put his band on hold for much of the past year to take a job drumming for Queens of the Stone Age. And judging by the sound and fury of his band's gritty fourth CD One by One, the experience both rubbed Grohl the right way and rubbed off on him.

More than a few of One By One's 11 tracks -- especially the leadoff single All My Life -- skew closer to the riff-laden robot-rock of QOTSA than, say, the polished popcore of older hits like Learn to Fly or Breakout. Even when Grohl does head for poppier or mellower terrain, he keeps the vibe loose and underproduced, giving even the low-key tracks a dark, fuzzed-out haze that sets them apart from typical studio balladry.

We don't know whether that means he's inching closer to his Nirvana roots -- it's hard not to believe that at least some of these lyrics are about Kurt Cobain -- or nudging himself toward a rockier new future.

Either way, it makes One by One the Foos rawest and most real disc since Grohl's one-man debut.

And if Queens of the Stone Age had anything to do with it, allow us to be the first to extend our gratitude. (More on Foo Fighters)

Track Listing
1. All My Life
2. Low
3. Have It All
4. Times Like These (One-Way Motorway)
5. Tired
6. Burn Away
7. Lonely As You
8. Halo
9. Overdrive
10. Disenchanted Lullabye
11. Come Back