Review
Red Hot Chili Peppers
I'm With You

After a quiet five years of whispers, rumors, questions, confirming of rumors and, at last, the revealing of exactly what the fuck The Red Hot Chili Peppers have been up to, they finally release an album. Featuring a new guitarist. And a fly mounting a pill capsule as cover art.

Let there be no doubt; the four chili peppers have been anything but tame in the years since former guitarist John Frusciante left the band in 2009. His replacement, Josh Klinghoffer, filled the role fittingly. As a close friend of the band, having released several albums with Frusciante and later joining the Stadium Arcadium tour on guitar and keys, Klinghoffer adds new dynamic, without sacrificing the chemistry RHCP have established.

I’m With You shares aspects of 2006’s Stadium Arcadium, yet displays a fresh approach to songwriting, thanks to both Flea and Klinghoffer. While former RHCP albums favor funk and more solid structured songs, here we’re given a rock infused record, riddled with experimental ridiculousness. And that’s to be taken favorably.

Flea’s bass melodies are prominent and rambunctious, seemingly the first threads in writing several of these tracks. His emphasis in bass-heavy highlights “Factory of Faith”, “Ethiopia” and “Goodbye Hooray” creates powerful foundation for the other three to accompany.

Drummer Chad Smith expresses a more versatile style amongst his ever-so fluid backbeats. Where there are opportunities for spastic fills or accented tricks, he takes them. On the other hand, Anthony Kiedis remains loyal to his signature singing, even taking it back on “Even You, Brutus?” to his old school rap-style vocals for a funky hip-hop, early R&B tune.

This “new band”, as Smith referred to RHCP as following Klinghoffer joining, certainly has a new flare. However, longtime fans need not be concerned; the energy and classic sound are still very much alive. We’re given a new take on this sound, and Klinghoffer indubitably has taken notes on Frusciante rock and blues.

The riffs and runs in “Look Around”, the soloing in “Police Station” and upscale verse strums of “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie” could easily be mistaken for the former guitarist’s work. In fact, if not having been aware, some may have been fooled into thinking this was the same lineup of five years prior.

Despite the similarities, differences, and new creative prowess, the Red Hot Chili Peppers managed to survive what seemed to be a sure demise. Not only that, they pulled it off sounding classically authentic. So be warned: The Red Hot Chili Peppers are fiery, fresh, and far from expiring.