Love the record already. I’m doing the same thing I’ve done with every Chili Peppers album prior to this one, listening to it on repeat and analysing every note. I have cooled my positivity for it slightly since hearing it last weekend, though.
It doesn’t reach the highs of previous records, but it also hasn’t got as many lows
To my ears, this is Red Hot Chili Peppers most even, balanced album to date. I don’t think it reaches the highs of previous records, but it also hasn’t got as many lows. Each track when taken individually is solid, if not great in a few cases. There are some excellent moments song-to-song, power choruses, driving basslines and Chad delivering a strong performance (thankfully drums are not electronic sounding on this record as with The Getaway).
Something I feel that’s missing is an iconic single, with guitar driven intro (e.g.: Californication, Can’t stop, Under the bridge, Snow Hey Oh). It holds up fine without it, but it’s strange not having that ‘mainstay’ of a Chili peppers album. That said, music has changed, the world has changed, I don’t think there’s a place for a big alternative rock radio single anymore.
The record has elements from BSSM, Cali, BTW and SA in there. It’s got funk, rock, ballads, even a grunge number on the Japan exclusive ‘Nerve Flip’. I would have liked to see them experiment and move their sound forward a bit more, I was even open to some electronic influence from John creeping in (there’s a smidgen on two tracks). This is them finding their feet together again and hopefully they’ll kick on from here.
Overall, delighted to have new RHCP music to listen to and can’t wait for the next record already!
