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

It’s been five years since the last offering from Red Hot Chili Peppers, in the form of the double album, Stadium Arcadium. However, the return of Red Hot Chili Peppers has yet again been punctuated by the departure of guitarist John Frusciante, who many consider to be central to the band’s best albums, such as Californication, Blood Sex Sugar Magik and By The Way. So, how does the band’s tenth studio album, I’m With You, sound without the instrumental influence of Frusciante?

Well, it’s pretty much a standard Red Hot Chili Peppers affair, minus John Frusciante. Josh Klinghoffer - the replacement that Frusciante himself suggested - never really gets a chance to put his stamp on I’m With You. There is no sense that he has added anything new to the Chili Peppers’ sound, instead, he has just slotted in comfortably. First single from I’m With You, ‘The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie’, is probably Klinghoffer’s spotlight moment, with some interesting hooks layered on top of Flea’s addictive bass line.

In fact, Frusciante’s departure has given Flea more freedom, something that is evident from opening song ‘Monarchy Of Roses’. The song kicks off with the fusion of Chad Smith’s rumbling drum beat and Flea’s bass before Anthony Kiedis’ distorted vocals thunder over the top.
Klinghoffer comes in as an afterthought, with a funky little riff complementing Flea’s bass during the catchy chorus.



‘Factory Of Faith’ once again relies heavily on Flea’s bass, in what sounds more like a return to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ funk-orientated earlier material - pre-Mother’s Milk era - as Kiedis sings yet another infectious chorus, “Be my wife I think you right that we should mate / Tell your friends I got a factory of faith”. One of the strongest songs on the album is the beautiful ‘Brendan’s Death Song’.



Starting with a melodic acoustic guitar, the song slowly winds towards an incredibly emotive and - surprisingly for Kiedis - lyrically comprehensible chorus: “Like I said you know I'm almost dead, you know I'm almost gone / And when the drummer drums he's gonna play my song to carry me along”. This is a brief interlude before the return of Flea’s dominant bass during ‘Ethiopia’, another song with a powerful, if rather simplistic, sing-a-long chorus.

‘Annie Wants A Baby’ provides another chance for Klinghoffer to shine, and although he doesn’t necessarily throw down any surprises, he certainly channels Frusciante, with a ‘Californication’-lite melody. When talking about Klinghoffer’s impact on the band, Flea remarked, “Josh is a very subtle musician and it's not so much about the big riff - it's more subtle, sublime, poetic texture type of playing.” This is certainly evident on songs such as ‘Did I Let You Know’ and ‘Police Station’, where Klinghoffer appears to take the softly, softly approach, never going beyond subtle melodies and riffs. “We still sound like the Red Hot Chili Peppers,” said Flea, “but it’s really a lot different.” The huge shift in sound that Flea seems to intonate is not as evident as he makes out, that’s for sure, but there is no questioning that this is a Red Hot Chili Peppers record. ‘Goodbye Hooray’ is another signature Chili Peppers song, with a thumping drum beat, furious riff and an undeniably catchy chorus - one that will aide them well on their upcoming UK tour.



‘Happiness Loves Company’ and ‘Even You Brutus?’ - the latter sounding akin to The Hold Steady - add variety to the album, with both structured around a vibrant piano. I’m With You is a steady return from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, it encapsulates all the sounds they have built as a band over the 28 years they have been together. This is by no means a bad thing, but there is nothing here that really jumps out.

Kiedis originally said the band had given their new album the working title of Dr Johnny Skinz's Disproportionately Rambunctious Polar Express Machine-head, named after a friend's acid trip. Obviously that is a ridiculous name for an album - it certainly would have caused issues for the advertising department - but it does suggest that the music would be out-of-the-box, extravagant and pretty mental. It says more about the music on the album than anything else that the American four-piece changed the name, because this collection of songs would not have done the previous name justice. I’m With You will satisfy long-time Red Hot Chili Peppers fans - and it is a good album - it just isn't a great one.

3/5