Review: Red Hot Chili Peppers - I'm With You

It's been a long, strange trip for the Chili Peppers.  "All my life, I was swingin' for the fence.  I was lookin' for the triple, never playin' good defense," (kinda) sings Anthony Kiedis on "Factory of Faith," a track off his band's 10th studio album, I'm With You.  While he isn't referring to his own life or the life of his band on the song, it's definitely a suitable analogy for a man whose life has been a cacophony of bad decisions and drug abuse and whose band has fought through a myriad of line-up changes (many due to addiction).  RHCP was faced with yet another change after 2006's Stadium Arcadium when guitarist John Frusciante left the band to focus on his solo work.  While this split was more amiable than the last time Frusciante left the band (in 1992), it still brought about fears of a drop-off in the quality of music.  After all, One Hot Minute, the last album recorded without Frusciante, was their least successful record in what can be called the 'modern' Chili Peppers era.  But fear not, Chili Pepper fans!  I'm With You is no One Hot Minute, as the Peppers mix up their various styles to create a very listenable, if lengthy, record.

Don't get too excited though.  The presence (or lack thereof) of Frusciante looms over the record, and while new member Josh Klinghoffer certainly does an admirable job with the guitar parts, the soulful solos and backup vocals of Frusciante are sorely missed.  Klinghoffer and bassist Flea do their best imitations of Frusciante's soaring, high-pitched backup vocals, but they're just that, imitations.  The fact that they're typically mixed very low says it all.  Enough mourning over the loss of Frusciante though, I'm sick of spelling out his name.

One of the best things about this album is a resurgence in the "slap bass" funk sound that has slowly dropped out of RHCP's releases through the 2000s.  Flea does an excellent job with some killer bass lines, especially on "Monarchy of Roses" and "Look Around."  That vintage Chili Peppers funk sound is mixed with some of their newer influences to create a very unique record.  Sometimes it works better than others, but this record has its share of good tunes and a few bores.  Ever since "Under the Bridge" shot them into stardom, I think they feel obligated to try and repeat that success with another ballad even though ballads don't play to the strengths of this band.  Without Frusciante's guitar (dammit, sorry), ballads DEFINITELY don't play to the strengths of this band, and songs like "Brendan's Death Song" and "Meet Me At The Corner" are flow-stoppers.  Additionally, I'm also happy to report that Anthony Kiedis must still be sober, because many of his lyrics are still pretty nonsensical.  When he was doing boatloads of heroin and having tons of sex he had those things to write about, but since coming clean he either seems to just pick rhyming words out of a hat or he has a deeper understanding of metaphor than Maya Angelou.

The whole affair ends with "Dance, Dance, Dance," which is an interesting twist for the band, as they switch from their funk-pop into a dancey (go figure) mode with what sound like bongos helping drummer Chad Smith drive the beat.  At nearly an hour in length, I'm With You feels a bit bloated and could have used some more editing.  If you like the Chili Peppers, you'll probably find some new favorite songs on this record, but age takes its toll, and I'm beginning to doubt they'll ever find their way back to their 90s peak. 3.5/5.

Review: Girls - Father, Son, Holy Ghost

Father, Son, Holy Ghost.  Quite the album title for a band whose lead singer was forced to be part of the extremist Children of God cult for much of his youth.  Christopher Owens led a disturbing and chaotic childhood, and much of that pain shows through in his music, especially his band's 2009 debut album, Album.  Owens still has some demons to fight though, and he's chosen this album as the arena for that confrontation.

The general gist of this record is the same as the previous one; unrelentingly sad lyrics about relationships masked by cheerful jangly guitar pop melodies.  The major difference is that Father, Son, Holy Ghost feels more subdued, and Owens' voice isn't quite as, for lack of a better word, obnoxious.  Obnoxious really isn't the right word, but there was this sneering quality to it on Album that isn't present on the new record.  The result is a record that's much nicer and easier to listen to despite all the woe in its words.

First singles "Vomit" and "Honey Bunny" showcase the band's great range.  "Honey Bunny" displays flashes of Dick Dale-like drums and guitar fills before diving into the verse like a sped-up Beach Boys tune.  On the other hand, the slow, sprawling "Vomit" builds up from silence into repeated climax and recession (multiple guitar solos included, as well as...an organ solo?), as Owens croons about his ill-fated search for love.  There are a number of great tunes on the record, especially the driving drums and restless guitars on "Alex."  The simplicity of "How Can I Say I Love You" makes it another song that is easy to love.  The record stagnates a little toward the end, but most will at the very least find a tune or two that suits them here.  Father, Son, Holy Ghost is immediately rewarding, and most of these tracks are worth a listen or two, just like Owens' story. 4.4/5.

In other news, there's been a recent influx of anticipated releases into my library (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Laura Marling, maybe Lil' Wayne?) so check back soon for my takes on these new records!

Review: Jay-Z and Kanye West: Watch The Throne

Damn.  Look at that cover.  Only arguably two of the three current monarchs of hip-hop could get away with that, and Weezy would just sound silly rapping some of these verses.  "Luxury rap, the Hermes of verses/Sophisticated ignorance, write my curses in cursive" raps Kanye on second single "Otis," and that basically sums up the theme of the record.  Two giants of a genre, a mentor and a pupil, celebrating their combined success with a spectacle of brash extravagance.  Watch The Throne not only showcases two all-time great MCs at their best, but it also feels sort of like a changing of the guard.


Kanye first really got his foot into the door of the music industry through Jay-Z, producing Jay's hit single Izzo (H.O.V.A.).  This relationship helped West persuade Jay to sign him as a solo performer when most other record companies didn't want to.  West was a breakthrough success, and as his popularity and talent grew, the relationship between the two MCs got rocky at times (as evidenced in the Kanye track "Big Brother").  Watch The Throne is the first full collaboration record between the two friends and rivals, and hearing them side-by-side really makes it apparent that Kanye is in his prime while Jay's career is nearing its end.


Anyway, enough backstory and speculation, and onto the music.  Overall, the album is really solid, and the reason why is the production.  Kanye and his laundry list of producer friends take sampling in hip-hop to a new level.  Whether it's the dubstep-rap (!) of "Who Gon Stop Me" or turning Otis Redding's "Try A Little Tenderness" into a rhythm track on "Otis," the production crew keeps finding new ways to surprise listeners (including sampling Will Ferrell!).  Another highlight is the great guest appearances by Beyonce and Frank Ocean, whose inclusion on two songs marks the Odd Future singer's grand entrance into the public consciousness.  A few more guest appearances may have been needed to stop Kanye from trying to sing though, something which he has proven again and again he can't do naturally.  Another complaint is that a few songs feature these weird little interludes which kind of kill the flow of the record.


As far as the raps go, Kanye's rhymes pretty much kill Jay's on this record, not to insinuate Jay's are bad or mailed-in at all.  For the most part, Jay feels a little more laid-back and slow while Kanye lays down the majority of the faster rhymes.  Lines like "Heard Yeezy was racist, well, I guess that’s on one basis/I only like green faces" and "I made 'Jesus Walks,' I'm never goin' to hell." are hilarious and classic.  There isn't a whole lot of personal material like on most Kanye records, except on the standout tracks "New Day" and "Made in America."  "New Day" is particularly interesting, as Kanye and Jay talk to their unborn children, wanting them to have a normal life and not to be affected by their father's fame and crazy lifestyle.


Without a really epic, standout track and a few missteps, I don't think this is the instant classic hip-hop record a lot of people expected it to be.  However, the interesting sampling and production techniques may open the door for more producers to try using genres like dubstep as backing tracks for their hip-hop records.  Instant classic it isn't, but it's still a very good record, and perhaps even one we'll look back on in a few years as being the one that spawned a new subgenre or two.  4.1/5.