Review Summary: The Getaway (From Stability)
Rarely can a band like the Red Hot Chili Peppers claim to carry a significant stock in mainstream relevance despite their long reaching career. With 33 years and 11 studio albums to name, the California lovin’ funk rock superstars haven’t seen a sign of slowing down in the slightest. Despite some significant blows, such as the departure of long-time guitarist John Frusciante and two extended periods of “hiatuses” they still remain as a formidable presence in mainstream rock. The Getaway, their newest album since 2011s I’m With You, finds the Peppers on significantly newer ground sonically. The album leans itself towards slower paced alternative ballads with slight flavoring of funk lightly peppered on a la Brian Burton’s (Dangermouse) signature blend of synthetic bass slaps and electrofunk undertones.
How unfortunate it is for The Peppers however,
The Getaway falls flat of delivering the fresh sound they aimed for. While this record is a getaway (so to speak) from a decade long period of stagnation, The Peppers more or less find themselves flipping a switch from one dull sound to another, only this time it's just “different” enough to fit the bill for a "praise-worthy" change. Almost every aspect of production is neutered; rendered absolutely fake and overproduced thanks to Brian Burton’s hand. Chad Smith could be swapped out with a drum machine between every flat beat that sounds disconnected from the overall mix and no one would be more the wiser. Meanwhile Flea’s slap bass styling on tracks such as
Dark Necessities or
Go Robot feel more at home on the set of Seinfeld or a basement producer’s fresh new electro track on Soundcloud.
Though the biggest casualty of the Burton treatment is Anthony Kiedis himself. Perhaps it's the years catching up to him, but performance wise his energy is aptly compared to that of a stiff body in the cold. Still moving and struggling for heat, but in the end the body is fighting a futile struggle. His soft crooning is dull, an absolute sin in the many laid back tracks and ballads the album tries to regurgitate throughout the 40 minute run time whether it be "Dark Necessities" or the title track. This is most noticeable on a track such as "Detroit", where Kiedis’ attempt to stretch his vocals to a higher register a minute in finds him unintentionally putting on his best Kid Cudi impression.
However, praise needs to be thrown towards replacement guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who unlike the rest of the band, finds himself actually carrying the energy he was criticized for lacking just a few years prior. His performance, while nothing complex, is competent and quite catchy enough to stand out as a welcoming redeeming factor. Meanwhile, not every track here falls flat. On the contrary, the slower songs such as "Encore", "The Longest Wave", and "Feasting on Flowers" are a welcome breath of air and actually seem to show that the group are capable of catering to a sound that suits their age. On the other end of the spectrum however, it's concerning to notice that these tracks, which are the most absent from the qualities that make the band who they are and even the record’s own ideal sound, end up coming out as the highlight of the record.
In comparison to
I’m With You, a record which is unanimously agreed by fans of the band to be their worst to date, one can’t help but notice the issues with this record rising. While
I’m With You may be agreeably bad, one can’t deny the record had the decency to experiment more regardless of how big of a failure it turned out to be in the long run. Here however, everything is played as safe as possible and is engineered to be a guaranteed lukewarm success. Through each lifeless beat of a drum and note from Kiedis’ mouth, the album begins to sound like a man’s attempt to design what Red Hot Chili Peppers should sound like at this point in time without having any of the members present. And that is what ultimately makes the album a loss at the end of the day. It is nothing more than a mediocre reminder that maybe it's about time the guys called it quits.
