Alternative rock stalwarts Foo Fighters released their twelfth studio album, “Your Favorite Toy,” on Friday, April 24. A day with many other high-profile releases, the Dave Grohl-fronted legends attempt to reassert their place in the modern rock scene.

“Your Favorite Toy” is Dave Grohl’s first album since his title of “nicest guy in rock” was permanently tarnished by the revelation of an extramarital affair. In this way, it seems Grohl is framing the album as a return to form of sorts. The album makes two things abundantly clear: first, Grohl never asked for such a title. Second, he has never not been in form.

While it was never going to surpass its predecessor, 2023’s grief-tinged “But Here We Are,” “Your Favorite Toy” more than earns its place in the Foo Fighters’ incredible discography. While so many modern albums from bands of their era just sound like a bunch of middle-aged men attempting to relive their youth, Grohl and company inject this record with the right doses of vitality, youth and hard-knuckle, west coast rock and roll.

“Your Favorite Toy” is also the first Foo Fighters album featuring drummer Ilan Rubin, the only drummer to star on an album besides Grohl and the late Taylor Hawkins. While it’s hard to match two of the greatest drummers in rock history, Rubin does a respectable job, building a strong backbone of killer fills and live power.

The front half of the album is loaded with singles like “Caught in the Echo” and “Of All People,” which serve as phenomenal restatements of the band’s signature sound. Save for the title track, however, most of these actually didn’t grab me too much.

Side B, however, opens with “If You Only Knew,” which I believe could live on as one of the Foo Fighters’ all-time best. The song toes the perfect line between disco groove and post-grunge, and I found myself replaying it numerous times. Other standouts include “Asking for a Friend” and “Child Actor,” which is about the awful standards placed on children in show business.

“Turn the cameras off,” Grohl repeats, showing his ability to make profound statements within arena-filling rockers.

“Your Favorite Toy” is the shortest album in the Foo Fighters’ entire discography, clocking in at 36 minutes. With the rock community closely watching, Dave Grohl fills every minute with the heavy sound that built his career. While it won’t go down in history, it is a more-than-solid restatement of his talent and a firm reminder that he and the Foo Fighters are going nowhere.

7/10 (Must-listens: “If You Only Knew,” “Child Actor”)