Red Hot Chili Peppers

I’m With You

(Warner)

Even before the mega-million sales of Californication in 1999, the Red Hot Chili Peppers had a self-indulgent tendency to push the running time of their albums past the hour mark or into double-disc territory, as with 2006’s Stadium Arcadium – less value for money, more an endurance test for anyone other than hardcore fans of their LA funk-punk-rock cocktail. I’m With You falls 36 seconds short of committing the same crime, while managing to bring a bit more diversity to the game. After the glorious disco bass lines laid down by the inimitable Flea on opener Monarchy Of Roses and the trademark choppy riffs of Factory Of Faith (matched by Anthony Kiedis’s staccato rap delivery), the album gradually reveals that its musical palette has been tweaked thanks to the departure of guitarist John Frusciante in 2009 and the arrival of Josh Klinghoffer as his replacement. And so a jazz trumpet solo (Did I Let You Know) or a bit of laidback lounging (Meet Me At The Corner) can make for pleasant surprises, even if the song formulas remain familiar.

Alan Morrison