Red Hot Chili Peppers trade easy hooks for surprising depth on Unlimited Love
Guitarist John Frusciante is back, and the band sounds like they want to pretend he never left
Music Reviews Red Hot Chili Peppers
Kick out the guitarist in your band and replace him with the guy he was originally brought in to replace. It sounds awkward, but the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ moves over the past few years aren’t without reason: The chemistry of vocalist Anthony Kiedis, drummer Chad Smith, bassist Flea, and returning guitar virtuoso John Frusciante—the band lineup during their early ’90s and ’00s heydays—was always notable for its distinct musical fusion. (Even if the culture at large went so far as to enjoy a short-lived comedy podcast dedicated to a loving mockery of the percussive, funky, pop-rock gibberish for which the band is known.)
The meme-ification of the band was an easy stereotype: releasing one album 11 times, and people not noticing. And sure, there’s some truth there—the band always sounds like itself—but no fan of Red Hot Chili Peppers would mistake a Blood Sugar Sex Magik track with a tune from I’m With You. On Unlimited Love, the quartet makes an odd choice in its endless experiment of what latest topping to put on its musical sundae: to sound like it did when Frusciante left, but skirt into new sounds without being as catchy.
The album starts with “Black Summer,” a Californication-esque track mixed with a sea shanty listening session. That song (the first single released) is actually the earworm of the album, indicating the lack of stadium-filling melodies that will likely turn off more casual fans expecting hits akin to those from Frusciante’s previous stint. Gone are the endless hooks wedded to Kiedis’ ratatat vocals spitting out something meaningless but catchy; what remains are songs that don’t hit as hard on first impact, but grow over time. Most important of all, Kiedis largely stays out of his own shamalama-hoosegow way, a fresh change from recent albums.
The other sounds on Unlimited Love tend to lean a few different ways. Some are new wave- influenced, others more hardcore or punk-derived, while the bulk of the record turns to funk or disco, albeit through the eyes of an aging rock band. “Here Ever After” sounds closer to Gang Of Four than anything they’ve done since By The Way, but with lesser success. And “Aquatic Mouth Dance” is fun if you’re there for the groove but not the lyrics—the closest the album comes to reverting to the weakness of Kiedis’ worst tendencies, instead of the strength of the band—while “Not The One” sounds like a beach-bound By The Way track.
But oh, the high point. “She’s A Lover” is one of the greatest songs the band has written, certainly over the past 20 years. A straightforward disco-funk tune without a real rock twist outside of its guitar solo, the chorus manages to both display Flea’s unique bass skills while also nailing an undeniable hook. It doubles as the title track—“Unlimited love again” is shouted throughout one of the pre-choruses—but for a band verging on 40 years old, it sounds both entirely new while staying completely in line with what you’d want from them.
Sometimes, RHCP tries to teeter into that idea but fails, as tracks like “The Great Apes” and “White Braids & Pillow Chair” focus too much on one- or two-note melodies without the music providing enough support worth celebrating. These songs resemble B-sides from a previous era. “These Are The Ways” comes across like the band is trying to be Green Day, but hardcore fans may find it sounds like a weaker version of “Mini Epic (Kill For Your Country).” Similarly, “One Way Traffic” sounds like the halfway point between older cuts like “Storm In A Teacup” and “Save The Population,” and not in a good way—it pairs a stale verse with a chorus that lacks redeeming value.
Frusciante, the guitarist affiliated with all the band’s best work, has returned, but he mostly takes a backseat to Flea. Rather than sounding like guitar-based melodic songwriting, tracks like “One Way Traffic,” with its killer bass solo, sound like they came from casual jam sessions. Maybe that’s for the better, as it occasionally leads to wholly unique takes: “Whatchu Thinkin’” falls somewhere between a John Cage piano piece, a Radiohead song, and the stereotype of the Red Hot Chili Peppers of old. “The Heavy Wing” has Frusciante on lead vocals for the chorus, and the guitar solo is unmistakably him, while the arrangements around it sound like a different band, in the best way possible. “Let ’Em Cry” verges on something off of Abbey Road, with touches of “She’s So Heavy” ringing out as Smith gallops on his single pedal. Similarly, the album closer, “Tangelo,” is a drum-less ballad that’s as close to a John Lennon song as the group will ever write.
Unlimited Love has its limits; mostly the band plays it safe and hews to previous sounds. But it also unexpectedly shines: The combination of old styles transforms into an eclectic set of new ones. Frusciante’s presence is felt less in shredding guitar play than in the tasteful backing vocals and synthesizers across the album. Casual fans may be disappointed by the lack of hooks until they’ve heard it another twenty times, while hardcore fans will slowly discover there’s a musical depth the Peppers have long been striving for. The bulk of the album blends into its own flavor, and it’s a good one. Unlimited Love doesn’t do it all, but what it does, it does damn well.
63 Comments
The reviews for this album have been surprisingly kind – even Pitchfork gave it a modestly favorable review. Glad these goofballs still have good, tuneful music in them.
They all keep improving as artists, which isn’t typical of a band that’s nearly 40 years old and started with many a drug problem. Even Anthony’s divisive singing and lyrics have gotten much better
I’m quite wary of this. The Klinghoffer era was so bad to me that it made me wary of their old records and I just can’t vibe with Frusciante’s output post-The Empyrean. The experimental glitch EPs he released were fun and PBX… is okay, but Trickfinger and his last two CDs are some of the most pedestrian electronica I’ve ever heard.The meme-ification of the band was an easy stereotype: releasing one album 11 times, and people not noticing.I found that idea weird for much of their catalogue – they aren’t Iron Maiden, which really does sound the same each time. Stadium Arcadium is low-key my favorite album because while it’s too long and uneven, I admire that every track sounds like it comes from a different record and it sounds like they had a bunch of fun making it.
That is 100% not true for Maiden. They do have a sound, but that sound has definitely evolved over time (not necessarily for the better).
Gonna second your love for Stadium Arcadium. Maybe it’s because it hit when I was 13—and everything from when you’re that age is automatically the best of the bunch—but that one caught my attention in a way that their other albums didn’t. Oh, I burned my CD player out with their Greatest Hits CD, but that was my relationship to RHCP up until Arcadium: a bunch of good singles that rocked. Arcadium was weird, silly, a bit melodramatic, but damn, it was like I’d jumped into a story-book. That album took me on a small journey, y’know? And Kiedis’ voice has never sounded better.
Yeah, I think most people just know either Californication and BSSM which are somewhat similar in tone and style, while their other albums are very distinctive in style.The album is worth it, comparable to stadium arcadium while also bringing some new things to the table.
All of this time on the road and millions of albums sold and these guys still can’t buy shirts.
And Flea still can’t afford a dentist!
That dentist looks like he’s about to say (in a vaguely German accent) “then we cut off your Johnson”!
He was pretty bad.Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man. I saw that scene decades ago and I still can’t re-watch it.
I always enjoy his performance in The Big Lebowski. When I think of musicians I like in bad acting roles my mind immediately goes to Mick Jagger in Freejack.
Flea looked the part.Henry Rollins is Master Thespian compared to Jagger.
This is why I like watching Anthony Kedis get his ass kicked in “Point Break.”Also, “Point Break” is fucking awesome.
Is.it.safe?
Is it safe?Yes, it’s safe, very safe…
And Will Ferrell still has to take side-gigs acting!
Is that Flea, or some Iowan methhead they picked up when they found him trying to rip the copper out of a foreclosed house?
Blew their clothing advance on socks back in the 80s and they still haven’t paid it off.
That really made me laugh.
Oh, I get it. “Socks”. You mean coke.
I think it’s a reference to this:
It’s a step up. I remember once they only had a couple pairs of socks to share amongst themselves.
I’m a longtime fan of RHCP, but haven’t had much interest in this album. Most of the reviews I’ve read are pretty positive, it seems like it would be worth picking up. Most of my favorite musicians are old or dead, finding brand new music that appeals to me is a rarity these days.
“The Heavy Wing” is easily one of the best songs they’ve recorded in over 20 years.The album is a mixed bag, it could perhaps have been shorter and more focused, but maybe that wasn’t what they were going for.
“it could perhaps have been shorter and more focused”I think that statement applies to so many albums from the CD/MP3 era of records. When vinyl was the main format artists were restricted to a certain runtime. If they wanted to go beyond that, they and the record company would need to decide whether or not there was enough material to release a double album. IMO once CDs and their extended runtime became the norm a lot of albums were worse for it. There are so many albums out there that would fall somewhere between a single and double vinyl album, and a lot of them are worse off for it. I think the ~44 minute runtime of a single vinyl record and the forced track list editing that created was a feature not a bug.
Find the original Rolling Stone (negative) review of “Blood Sugar Sex Magick” – they spend the majority of the review discussing how CDs allow albums like BSSM to become overlong and stuffed with rough drafts of songs like their three then-new acoustic-ish ballads.
It’s interesting how my own views of that album have changed over the years. I’m 39, so probably in the middle age-wise for RHCP fans. I started listening to them when I was probably about 12, which would have been 1995. Until I was probably 25 BSSM was probably my favorite album of theirs. Since then my opinion of it has changed quite a bit, and I’d probably put it 3rd to 4th on my personal rankings. That of course doesn’t include the new album which I have yet to listen to. I think I’ll pick it up this weekend. I won’t listen to any songs ahead of time, if I can help it I like to experience an album as a whole the first time I listen to any of it.
I’m 41, and BSSM was my intro to the band and tops for a while, and then dropped a little as I entered my mid 20s
It’s astounding just how long the band has been around. They’re basically the same age as Motley Crue, but don’t feel like 80’s relics. By no means do they not look weird with 20 year olds (especially if Anthony is hitting on them) but their fanbase ranges from teenagers to 60 year olds who were there for their early stuff. They don’t have to play crawfish festivals like Everclear (I saw them at one and they weren’t half bad, but I wouldn’t pay more than crawfish festival money to see them) or attach themselves to other alt rock dinosaurs on tours.
It also gives bad music reviewers who don’t understand how to talk about music very much an easy out for a review.
I’m not sure if I understand your meaning.
That’s true, but I think it was also taken to another level with streaming. CDs *allowed* for more bloated albums, but streaming actively encourages it. I do actually think this one in particular is guilty of being a bit overly long. There’s some decent songs on there but it feels like a lot of not particularly memorable filler too. That said, even though a lot of people probably share that vague sentiment, we probably would disagree over which tracks ought to have ended up being left out.
At this point I’ve listened to the album quite a few times since it came out. While it’s nothing new or surprising, to me it fits right in with the rest of their Californication and beyond work with Fruciante, and I like it a lot. I don’t expect to be blown away by a new album from any band at this stage in their career, I always just hope “mature” bands don’t put out something embarrassing, and Unlimited Love isn’t, well other than the awful title. I do agree that it could be trimmed down, I think there is probably a very good 12 track album here. I admittedly never listened to their albums between Stadium Arcadium and this one, so that period of their discography is a completely unknown for me. I should probably just give them a chance. While they’ve made their best music with Fruciante, I do enjoy One Hot Minute, so I guess Josh’s work with the band might be worth a listen.
A ton of places that normally hate on them (including here) have given positive reviews, I think so far it’s highest rated since Californication
I bought and listened to it over the weekend and I really enjoyed it on first listen. Time will tell if that’s just the sheen of a new album, or if it will find a permanent place in my rotation.
Yeah it’s hard to say due to how soon it is. The older albums are from very specific and formative times for me, so comparing its impact to them is kind of unfair. But at the very least it’s on a level above other bands’ latter work (ie: Rolling Stones, Motley Crue, etc.) and it’s impressive they don’t just rest on their laurels and play their classic stuff in concert like most legacy bands.
Same here, in my mid-30’s I’ve been trying to get into some newer stuff. A lot of it is godawful but if you listen back on the deep cuts from the early 00’s as objective as you can, that stuff might have been even worse. Some random favorites are Willow Smith’s Meet Me at Our Spot and the Weeknd’s new album. I didn’t really expect myself to ever say that.
“The Heavy Wing” is easily one of the best songs they’ve recorded in over 20 years, it’s a stunning way to bring an album to a close.
Hard agree. Excellent track
Heard it today on sirius. Really good.
That song and Tangelo are a great 1-2 punch.
Hibby-dibby-dooby, somethin’ SacramentoWeird Al got his start from Doctor Demento.
Insert Tom Scharpling “ugh” here
I’m probably just an old nerd dad with terrible taste [looks in mirror … yep], but I am actually loving this album. It’s really freaking good!
I imagine at least half of you songs go something like “CALIFORNIA! CALIFORNIA! DID-YOU-KNOW WE’RE FORM FUCKING CALIFONIA!” [annoying bass slap]
Ahem, *annoying* bass slap!? There is no sexier sound, other than perhaps the sexy slither of a lady snake
no, in fact the word “California” doesn’t appear until midway through the album. It still appears, and stuff like this happens, but I was hoping the review would point people like you into realizing it’s relatively little of that and a pretty good amount of what made RHCP a popular band.
Drugs and a fun logo?
The California jokes have become the sportsball of rock music.
Fuck that they earned them.
That’s not really the point. Sports fans have earned “sports ball” jokes too. It’s just that a jab that was once kind of clever and funny is now just stale and basic. So many people with nothing to add have made the same joke so that it that it’s now just a cliché.
“Aquatic Mouth Dance”
Jesus that’s an off-putting song title.
The song is surprisingly fun and brassy, and doesn’t resort to creepy innuendo from a 60 year old with a pedo stache. If you want some of that Go Robot from their last album is certainly a choice
Ok thanks I guess
This review is essentially how I feel toward the album… it’s about the grooves/jams, and letting the the ebb and flow of it wash over you. I agree nothing hook wise really stands out through the first few listens, but as the author notes, that could eventually change, and there is a rich depth musically that will likely have different parts surprise in different ways on different listens. The whole is definitely greater than thr sum of its parts.
Once again it falls to me to be the lonely voice who thinks One Hot Minute is the best RHCP album, precisely because it trades Frusciante’s funky wiggle for Dave Navarro’s minor-key melancholy.
I desperately *wanted* One Hot Minute to be good — I loved Dave Navarro in Janes Addiction and Deconstruction (the sadly overlooked post-Janes album with Eric Avery)… but his time in RHCP, to me, came across as both a waste of Navarro and the RHCP themselves. An almost instantly forgettable album… I’m not sure if I can name two songs off of it tbh.
Navarro’s 2001 solo album Trust No One is a good one as well.To my ears, the second half of the album (OHM) is stronger than the side with all the singles on it; “Aeroplane” and “My Friends” could have come off any Chilis album. But “One Big Mob” and “Shallow Be Thy Game” are bangers, and the psychedelic shades on “Deep Kick,” “One Hot Minute,” and “Transcending” are an unusual and highly welcome (to me) flavor for that band.
Will have to go check the solo album, didn’t know he did one. Also, the song Aeroplane from OHM is just so utterly vapid and bad.
Kiedis relapsed hard after a dentist accidentally gave him morphine, and it shows in the writing for some of the songs. Flea had to write a few, like Pea, and the lyrics are pretty bad.
I really like warped, tearjerker and transcending, basically the tunes that didn’t try so hard to recreate BSSM
Anthony Keidis is, at best, a mediocre lyricist and that really has come through in my first couple of listens to this album. It’s a bunch of mid-tempo same-old with pretty lame lyrics delivered by a guy who could never actually sing anyway. Was hoping – against hope I guess – that they would rediscover some of what made them great so, so, so many years ago… It’s a lot of meh.