Review Summary: John goes nowhere.
Let me first talk about the general direction that the controversial John Frusciante was taking before the release of his EP "Outsides". In short, John had given an interview where he stated that he decided to use the computer as his main medium of work. He talked about the wide spectrum of instruments that can be sampled using this medium as a reasoning for adopting the computer to create his music. Many have complained about the path he took and resorted to downright insulting statements such as saying John has become a lazy-ass or he wants to make a quick buck. Now, I can see where they are coming from. But, I'm all for respecting an artist's aspirations and direction. You cannot force an artist to produce something similar to what he has done before just because it was a winning combination. John deserves credit for trying something new, and stepping away from what made him so famous.
An EP is usually supposed to give a taste of what the full album will sound like. I'll be honest, it left a pretty bitter taste.
"Outsides" starts with the song "Same" which is a song with a basic structure to it. A drum-sample is almost ever-present, although stopping at certain instants of the song and then resuming. Playing along the drum sample is just Frusciante's guitar-play which didn't impress me at all. His guitar-play felt random, and with no real feel to it at all. The whole song was actually an over the top 10 minute bore-fest with no pleasing texture, melody or climax. The boring structure present in "Same" is totally destroyed in the following song "Breathiac". "Breathiac" mainly has all the components of a song, but structured in an chaotic manner.
"Shelf" is this album's silver lining. It is a massive improvement over the first two songs and guess why? It actually has a melody to it! It starts with a similar randomness to the other songs, but then builds to a pretty enjoyable tune. John took better decisions here in using the drums, and his vocals were certainly a plus. It showed some kind of a progress in his methods; although, I'm then reminded that he's produced much aesthetically pleasing electronic songs over the years such as "Moments Have You" and "Walls". So, that's why I believe he is aiming for something different, but is still at a very early stage in his quest. I guess we'll get to see everything in the wider scheme after he's released the full album, but for now I'm giving this an F.
