Review Summary: Brilliance tainted with blemishes.
Following an in-depth exploration into synth and acid music which pushed the creative boundaries of musical scholar John Frusciante, ‘Letur-Lefr’ was born. The result was a layered, textured triumph that incorporated minimalist guitar work with driving synth lines in an experiment that Frusciante coined ‘Progressive Synth Pop’. Advertised and anticipated as the precursor to ‘PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone’, a continuation of the tight, free-flowing sound was naturally to be expected. The opposite however, could not be more true. The sonic blend that comprised ‘Letur-Lefr’ is replaced by a flurry of scattered drumbeats often accompanied by a heavy acid influence, resulting in a sound that can best be described as measured chaos. Indeed, ‘PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone’ is a different beast entirely.
So what results does this experimentation yield? The answer is unfortunately, mixed. Frusciante succeeds in both astounding and frustrating, sometimes within single songs. Menacing vocals are blended with uncomfortable, sporadic beats on first real track ‘Hear Say’. It meanders along inoffensively until the last thirty seconds where the beat evolves and becomes rapid and energetic, only to finish prematurely, whilst disappointingly delivering no transition to the subsequent song. Following track ‘Bike’ is where ‘PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone’ bursts into life. A cacophony of sounds blends together after an effective, disjointed beginning. Gruff vocals permeate throughout but excel at the song’s conclusion, with Frusciante growling “I want you, I need you”, in a sinister fashion that almost addresses the listener directly.
Album highlight ‘Ratiug’ succeeds in fusing past with present, whilst incorporating rapping that fits the mood and scene perfectly. The gloomy synth lines that Frusciante favours on this release are interspersed with his trademark falsetto delivery, whilst subtle guitar work looms in the background, never detracting from the atmosphere that has been steadily constructed. Other songs however, fail to reach these heights and either feel uncomfortable due to the sounds that comprise them, or contain both brilliance and blemishes within the same song. ‘Uprane’ is one such song that suffers from both the aforementioned flaws, as the majority of the song is comprised by an awkward beat that simply feels discordant. This is unfortunately paired with one of the finest conclusions on the album, to strike and typify the precarious balance that hinders the album and stops it from ranking among his finest.
The finishing pair of ‘Sam’ and ‘Sum’ contain some of the most energetic and elegant moments on the album. Although the first minute and a half of ‘Sam’ gives no indication of the barrage to come, the sudden switch proves to be highly effective, as Frusciante delivers more fury in one minute than he has ever done before. ‘Sum’ is in stark contrast to its predecessor, as it systematically switches between eerie and angelic, refusing to settle into either groove long enough for the listener to become complacent.
Although ‘PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone’ occasionally delivers moments of inspiration, the startling consistency which has become synonymous with John Frusciante is unfortunately absent, allowing his latest effort to be labelled unpolished amongst the rest of his gleaming discography.
