Review Summary: This latest incarnation of John Frusciante’s musical explorations yields a rebirth of his recent stylistic explorations in a fresh new light.
John Frusciante of Red Hot Chili Peppers has handled the ascension to modern rock greatness superbly. However, an impressive solo career of diverse, experimental rock releases unfortunately stalled out in recent years.
PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone and
Enclosure were inconsistent, flawed, but still interesting releases that marked his first missteps within a tremendous discography. It was clear that a change needed to be made, and Trickfinger seems to be the answer to these pitfalls. Released only a year after
Enclosure, Frusciante has introduced a (relatively) new sound, and a new moniker along with it.
Those looking for a return to the sound of
The Empyrean from 2009 will continue to be disappointed.
Trickfinger does not embody the ambitions of guitar-centric albums like it or
Shadows Collide With People. Even the avenues explored within more recent works like
Enclosure are streamlined into a smart, concise, and most importantly fun electronic record. Frusciante lets out none of his vocal talents, further establishing the sleek, robotic sounds he has opted for at this point of his musical career. Overall, this latest release strips away the complex layers of sound previously explored in favor of a much punchier, more immediate effect. Album opener “After Below” exhibits these qualities effectively, driven by punching bass drum hits and various melodies looping throughout. Fevered snare drum rhythms punctuate the rapid, driving nature of
Trickfinger, and most of the following songs more or less follow similar paths as “After Below.” “Rainover” is the album highlight, with watery sound effects and complex melodies played all over the octaves. The album unfortunately gets a bit samey towards the end, a disappointing quality given the brief runtime.
Despite losing steam in the second half, this latest Frusciante project still remains purposeful if nothing else.
Trickfinger plows through thirty-seven minutes of acid house and IDM beats with a focus that hasn’t been seen from him in quite some time. While perhaps still lacking the weight of outings like
Shadows Collide With People, he has more than proven his proficiency exploring electronic music in ways only he could achieve. Frusciante’s strongest outings centered on guitar playing with the electronics in the background, but
Trickfinger exists as a step in the right direction, displaying plenty of enjoyable musical musings throughout. Whether it exists as a building block towards returning to more grandiose experimental rock symphonies will be defined by what experimentations Frusciante delves into the future.
Trickfinger ends up existing on its own terms, and given what we were getting right before, is a welcome change of pace. Its highlights live up to the guitarist’s compositional and engaging musical talents well enough to warrant an open-minded yet cautious listen.
