Red Hot Chili Peppers - Unlimited Love

With 39 years on the road and releasing phonographic material for 38 years, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, with their discography of 11 studio albums, have experienced a long hiatus that lasted just under a decade in the field of announcing unreleased material. After a year of recording at California's Shangri-La studio, Unlimited Love, the quartet's 12th studio album, has come into the world.

The way John Frusciante's guitar sounds already causes nostalgia. Nostalgia for a sound long ago left only in the closets of memory. Soft, but at the same time also bringing in its essence the nostalgic character, it paints a picture of a landscape that the eyes of the character, graced by a contagious calm, reflect the movement of the clouds over the mountains of greenish terrain. It is then that a vocal with a subtly low, anasalated timbre takes part in the melodic structure still in formation. It's Anthony Kiedis delivering another ingredient of the typical Red Hot Chili Peppers sound while parading a lyricism with a narrative content. A narration that, by its simplicity, makes the listener create in his mind the scenarios described in each lyric verse with a wealth of details and sensations. While Flea's bass is pronounced as a welcoming friend accompanying his companion in a process of introspection fostered by a beginning of depression, the sentimental layer transits to a melancholy of curious coziness that follows even in the second stanza, a moment in which Black Summer gains accentuation in its melodic tempo with the entrance of a groove that, ministered by Chad Smith's drumsticks, drinks from the funk aesthetic base of Californication, single by the also known RHCP. Bringing a chorus that breaks the introspective energy also as a result of being followed by a stridently soft guitar solo, Black Summer is like the narrative of the discontent and melancholy of society facing the routine imposed by the pandemic. Verses like "been a long time since I made a new friend" translate the latent state of loneliness while "and China's on the dark side of the moon" describes, in a metaphorical way, China's responsibility towards the pandemic. 

Of increasing dramaticity as in What I've Done, Linkin Park's single, the melody flows into a bass of low and provocative lines while the guitar comes in harsh flashes delivering an imposing stance based on a mixed aesthetic of post-punk and alternative rock. Flowing into a low first chorus and starring a broken and dense lead drum, the song is filled with a lyricism of accelerated cadence that creates a counterpoint with the linearity in process of haste. Not by chance, Here Ever After narrates, as the melody gains the presence of the caxixi in the construction of the cadence, a relationship governed by intensity, platonic state, impulsiveness and savagery. An event that borders on the sick sense of sucking energy and awakening a state of deep dependence. 

With a pure, groovy, and swinging funk, Flea lone pulls the introduction of something that promises to be remarkable. Mixing influences from iconic songs by the Californian quartet, such as Hump de Bump and The Adventures Of Rain Dance Maggie, the present track has a more timid sound in which the greatness is concentrated in the resourcefulness of the bass lines. However, in the lyrical field, Aquatic Mouth Dance also shows a certain quality. Being filled with a biographical narrative, the track brings a storyline that recalls the early days of RHCP's career and what the music scene was like at the time. The verses "heavy metal the nest was dead" and "well, and the rappers gave delight" recall that, in the early 80's, the style played by names like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple was in fact dead and losing more and more space to a softer and swinging rhythmic outfit that embraced, including, the language of the streets. Continuing the reasoning, come the verses "everyone and their best friend knew" and "that the west was overdue", which confirm that the west, an allusion to the state of California, was lagging behind in development in the popular music field at the time in the United States. At the same time, Aquatic Mouth Dance offers an unassuming look at a passage in Kiedis' life when he was on his way to realizing himself a singer. A track of undeniably compelling lyricism and danceable rhythm that is even graced by a surprise swing delivered by Mauro Refosco's cowbell and a seductively cozy warmth from the synchronous dancing of the trumpet, saxophone and trombone brass ministered by Nathaniel Walcott, Josh Johnson and Vikram Devasthali, respectively, that has been symmetrically fitted into the chorus.

The sun is setting. Its brightness is almost obscured by the sea as it disappears over the horizon. In such a setting, it is almost possible to hear the imagetic sound of the tide moving back and forth or the cawing of seagulls flying over the twilight sky. This is made possible by the softened, soothing guitar riff that is presented in Hawaiian aesthetics. A not-so-common instrument in RHCP's sound is clearly present in the first verse. Delivering a curiously dramatic warmth, the piano notes and Matthew Tollings comfortably embrace the budding lyrical plot. On a bluesy base, Not The One is a song of emotion amplified by Aura T-09's backing vocals and whose plot bears a surface that exudes a great deal of self-loathing as Kiedis opens his sentimentality by discussing the effects of imposter syndrome. A psychological disorder that, in the plot, is overcome by a touching and true love that encourages the display of the true essence of the lyric self.

Swinging in a funk base accentuated from the bass lines in sync with the drums, the introductory melody is already filled with rhyming lyrical verses in a non sequitur and juxtaposition structure reminiscent of iconic RHCP songs like Can't Stop. Making references to countless media names from 20th century pop culture, such as Yoko Ono, Robert Plant, Billy Idol, Thin Lizzy, Ramones, Michael Jackson, and Motörhead, to name just a few examples, Poster Child is a song that brings a kind of recipe for success widely consumed by the personalities of the time. Viewing the stars of the period as narcissistic personalities, Kiedis becomes aware and, from the verse "you turn me on to, well and I can't get up for no one else but you" he confesses to being a kind of victim of such a recipe for success and consequent popularity. For the rest, Poster Child features mind-numbing overtones of a nauseating-sounding organ pronounced from Cory Henry in the chorus and a swinging accentuation by Lenny Castro's percussive elements.

Interestingly, the melodic initiation recreates the ambience promoted by Klaus Eichstadt in the intro of Everything About You, Ugly Kid Joe's single. While in Poster Child Kiedis satirizes 20th century pop culture, in The Great Apes he assesses not only the effects of fame on the individual, but also tries to point out that even the famous are normal people and do normal things. At least, this was his attempt with the verse "superstar go do the dishes". Between explosive and energetic refrains, Kiedis also points out that sometimes the excess of fame can imprison a person, and he vented about the need to feel free. The Great Apes ends up, by its lyrical content, entering the same spectrum as Knock'em Dead, a Scorpions track, and The Path Less Followed, a single by Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, as a product that stops romanticizing and extolling the concept of fame and offers a realistic view of what it is all about.

It is with a funky soft rock that the introduction is formed. With precise and strongly present bass marking, the lyrical plot is soon made evident. Far from sharp reflections or autobiographical venting like Aquatic Mouth Dance, Not The One, Poster Child or even The Great Apes, It's Only Natural is about the power of love as a way to break through socially and conservatively constituted barriers. By bringing a couple formed by people ruled by completely different socio-cultural contexts, this track ends up creating a simple link with the narrative of Sk8er Boy, Avril Lavigne's single. 

Low, rhythmic notes from the bass. Echoes from the horizon begin to grow in intensity. It is then that a swinging and precise melody enters the scene, delivering contagious funk grooves and a dressing that explores a soft rock sound that embraces the lyricism in construction. Filled with rhymes, replete with percussive insertions that deliver even more swing and brushed with unison backing vocals positioned in the chorus, She's A Lover is the story of a woman driven by the purest humanitarian feeling and love for others. A free-spirited person, but with a latent provocative instinct.

The introduction has a cadence stipulated only by the lyrical bars employed by Kiedis. Here, in contrast to the previous songs, Flea is more restrained as he did on Not The One, and thus leaves to Smith the role of bringing the rhythmic tempo accent, who inserts choppy grooves, but completely embraced by the calmness that fills the melodic scope. These Are The Ways is an introspective song, but whose lyricism offers a reflection mixed with a desire of how to visualize the American reality. The verses "lost in a dream", "please step down from your bully machine" evidence the desire to see the country as a place that is no longer ruled by judgment and has become a territory of acceptance. At the same time, even if in a simple way, it also deconstructs the old and traditional imaginary American dream. 

The first unison promoted by bass and drums already brings a striking funk reminiscent of the Can't Stop track. The guitar comes with a swinging soft rock, but whose essence brings in itself a hard rock aesthetic that is evidenced, even if in a controlled way, during the chorus. As another product of autobiographical sentimentality, on Whatchu Thinkin' Kiedis discusses the issue of the colonization of the native peoples of the United States by the Europeans. Verses such as "I just got no reason to believe" and "just a theory that we do appease" portray the mistrust of the natives towards the colonizers. In contrast, the verses "call me every name in the book" and "punk ass fascist and a dirty crook" highlight the moral abuse and disrespect towards the Amerindians. Unquestionably, Whatchu Thinkin' Kiedis is a track with a striking melody.

An electronic sound is coupled with a low, spaced-out bass groove in a way that inserts hints of synth-pop into the introduction. Evolving surprisingly into a folk melody with hints of Hawaiian ambience, Bastards Of Light is a largely alternative-based song that chronicles a sense of social savagery in the form of an imposing, protesting stance. It is a description of an uprising for social improvement. Still, Bastards Of Light is of an ecstatic mellow tranquility that attracts and infects with ease.

With a spiky base and a mellow surface, the intro brings an extremely subtle touch of swing amidst a rhythm that is immersed in the soft rock theme. With rapped lyrical cadence, the vocal creates an aesthetic counterpoint with the melody that surrounds it while narrating a routine shaped by a passionate relationship. Containing the presence of unison backing vocals in the chorus giving emphasis on some verses, White Braids & Pillow Chair is a quiet, infectious song that has a striking folk bridge.

The sound offers a distinctive cheerfulness long since unleashed on Unlimited Love. Not only the energy, but the vocals are pronounced with a typical Red Hot Chili Peppers cadence that serves as the basis for the narration of a comic plot that highlights an authentic sense of freedom experienced by a self-songwriter who finds himself having to flee from a community that follows a path that, for him, is ruled by a doldrums and disinterest in the joy of life that comes with marriage. Lighthearted and infectious, One Way Traffic is still a song that has a strong, bubblegum chorus that easily draws the listener in. Surprisingly, the track offers an exciting bridge built under a hard rock structure that brings evident reference to the sound promoted by AC/DC, with special mention to that of Walk All Over You, single by the Australian quintet. 

Soft, warm, and soothing. The introduction is ruled even by a calmer vocal in a way that can even be translated as introspective. With melodic simplicity, but a great capacity to attract the listener by the curiously more radio-folk-like structure, Veronica is a song with a dramatic refrain, but whose lyrical plot is the promotion of love through the feeling of empathy for all directions of the United States. From Chicago to Nebraska, from Omaha to Miami. The declared balladry of Unlimited Love.

A distinctive swing that, while sounding funk, flirts with soul, is built in the first sonars. Mixing elements of reggae in the first verse, Frusciante ends up delivering a high soft lightness in the melody still under construction. Settling in a softened and light energy, Let 'Em Cry receives, in the chorus, the presence of the organ and the metals, which fly over the whole sound atmosphere in order to amplify the reggae ambience of this song about the simple things of the routine and the everyday life and how the small actions influence people's well-being.

Strange to notice that the introductory melody drawn by the guitar recreates the same movement as the soundtrack of the Peugeot brazilian advertisement Eu E Peugeot. Peugeot E Eu. Standing out against the drum and bass base, the instrument dominates the sound surface with a subtly swinging riff while the way the vocal presents itself refreshes in the listener's mind the rhythmic structure present in Sou Dela, Nando Reis' single. Mixing alternative rock in its recipe, The Heavy Wing offers a happy surprise to the listener by bringing a pre-recording in which Kiedis shares space with Frusciante, who, surprisingly, takes the lead vocals imprinting his sour and slightly harsh timbre while the melody evolves to something more aggressive and harsh in order to build an alternative metal that flirts a lot with the Faith No More sound.

The subtlety of the guitar is the introduction. Light as a wind breeze on an autumn afternoon, the instrument's dance is soon joined by an omnipresent rationality coming from the bass present in the rhythmic base. Composed mostly in such a dynamic in which guitar and bass accompany the lyrical plot together, Tangelo is a song that shows the power of love from the perspective of someone who feels strengthened and empowered when in the presence of someone who offers him attention, support, and love itself. At the same time, there is a tension in the plot as the lyricist flirts with negative thoughts that incite the end of life that is amplified even by the insertion of the ghostly, almost supernatural toned organ, which imputes an extra dose of drama. Tangelo is like the superego clashing with the individual's id. 

When you hear the bass guitar, you can already tell what band it is. When you hear the drums, you already know what band it is. When you hear the vocals, you already know what band it is. The Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of the few bands in which all the instruments, without exception, form a single, strong and consistent sound identity. With Frusciante's return to the guitar post, this identity is complete and has promoted the construction of Unlimited Love, an album that, for fans, is nostalgic, but overall, is innovative and nothing short of authentic.

Away from his role in the Red Hot Chili Peppers since their Stadium Arcadium tour in 2007, Frusciante has delivered the ingredient that has long been missing in the Californian quartet's recipe. With his guitar, the New Yorker employed lightness, smoothness and that sound immortalized in songs like Snow, Give It Way and Californication. 

However, his return is not only noticed in the sound that comes out of his amplifiers. Unlimited Love is a work in which RHCP constantly makes visits to the early days of their career with nostalgic, but also reflective eyes when noting the place they occupy today in the music and phonographic market. Songs like Poster Child, the album's funk rock anthem, and The Great Apes illustrate this mood well.

On the other hand, the album is also a work in which Kiedis ventured into delicate and autobiographical subjects, such as his anguish over imposter syndrome, noted in the track Not The One, and his perspective on the relationship between the colonizers and the native Americans, since he is of Amerindian descent. This theme can be seen in Whatchu Thinkin'.

For fans who like the more traditional sound of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Unlimited Love is an album on a menu with several options that cater to this palate. Even because, the album marks the return of producer Rick Rubin, the name behind iconic works of the Californian quartet, such as Blood Sugar Sex Magik, Californication, By The Way and Stadium Arcadium.

That's why songs like Black Summer, Here Ever After, Aquatic Mouth Dance, Whatchu Tninkin', White Braids & Pillow Chair, and One Way Traffic are extravagant flavored dishes for those who want a revival of the typical Red Hot Chili Peppers sound.

However, far beyond traditionalisms, Unlimited Love is a record that shows the group venturing into musical fields outside the comfort zone of funk rock. On the record, synth-pop, alternative metal, reggae, hard rock, blues, alternative rock, post-punk, folk and soft rock are perceived. A sum total of rhythmic environments that was very well synthesized and equalized by Ryan Hewitt's mixing.

Interestingly, even the cover art seems to celebrate Frusciante and Rubin's return to the RHCP family. Made by Clara Balzary, it is filled with a nostalgic feeling provided by the visual, even if hidden, dusk. In the foreground of this twilight landscape comes the group's logo filled with the name of the album as on a luminous sign in a Californian nightclub.

Released on 04/01/2022 via Warner Music Records, Unlimited Love is more than the confirmation of the return of two key ingredients to the Red Hot Chili Peppers sound. It is proof that the synchronicity and chemistry between the members is solid enough to go on to create many more classic sounds.