Review Summary: Take Me Back.
It's a shame about Josh Klinghoffer. Without wanting to overstate the case, there's a lot of blame that can be heaped upon him for the recent downfall of The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Ignoring faux-worldbeat inflections and middling hooks,
I'm with You suffered simply because Klinghoffer wasn't the right heir to the Froosh Throne. As an alternative, the hugely expansive and ambitious Dot Hacker prove more than anything that Klinghoffer really is a master composer. Hidden in the background, this years' masterful
How's Your Process? series proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the only thing Chili Willy need to do is relinquish control to this subtle outrider.
The second chapter of
How's Your Process?,
(Play) opens esoteric on the funk metal propulsion of "Sideclimb". Wrapping a grooving riff around a constantly accelerating hook, Klinghoffer carries momentum well into the downtempo "Somersault", the true face of
(Play). Where
(Work) placed emphasis on processed beats and guitar,
(Play) exists within a far more subtle and sullen dimension- the veil of storming darkness that infects "Memory" and "Mission Creep" most notable. Compositions here are more bleak in progression; the final third of the record, plagued by the misery beat of "Rest Assure" and "Anger" show a propensity towards melody over theatrics. Particular attention on "Anger"; guided only by piano and strings, Klinghoffer's lamentations of pain strike as harrowed stabs at the soul. As clear as it is that Dot Hacker are only a side-project, it's moments like "Anger" that really prove unfortunate because of the side-project status. While it's unlikely that
How's Your Process? will reach a wide audience, the pristine pop experiments are more than worth the minute attention it will receive. Let's just hope that the next Chili Peppers' LP is even remotely similar.
