Red Hot Chili Peppers, fresh off their performance at Jazz Fest in New Orleans, have released the first single off their new album, The Getaway. “Dark Necessities” is our first chance to hear the end result of the band’s sessions with Danger Mouse, who executive produced the album. The album was mixed by Nigel Goodrich and is the first time the Chilis haven’t worked with Rick Rubin since their 1989 album Mother’s Milk.
The song isn’t a vast departure from the Chili Peppers’ funk/rock sound. It has Flea’s rolling bass line and it has the steady back beat of Chad Smith’s drums, both Chili Peppers’ trademarks. But there’s the piano throughout the song that is a new addition and a sonic sleekness throughout, which likely is the result of Danger Mouse’s influence.
The band’s last album, 2011’s I’m With You, was new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer’s debut with the band following John Frusciante’s departure, and generally viewed as more of the same as it failed to register much outside the band’s core fan base. It’s been 10 long years since their last truly great project, the double album Stadium Arcadium, and it’ll be interesting to both see and hear what happens with The Getaway. The legendary California band will be co-headlining Lollapalooza 2016 later this summer.
The Getaway comes out June 17 on Warner Bros. Records.
