Music Review | Red Hot Chili Peppers | We Turn Red

Red Hot Chili Peppers have released their third single 'We Turn Red', from their upcoming release The Getaway. 

Unsurprisingly, it seems with older alternative bands releasing new music in recent years, they aren't exactly getting the warmest of reactions to their new releases. And that is no different with Red Hot Chili Peppers three recent tasters for their 2016 album The Getaway. 

As it stands, we've heard three new tracks for The Getaway. 'Dark Necessities', 'The Getaway', and this track 'We Turn Red'. What seems to be a running thread through reactions on various social media sites to these songs are either on the producer (Danger Mouse), the lack of guitar solos from Josh (and that apparently there hasn't been any since John Frusciante), and that it's 'too commercial'. 

Personally, I have played these three songs to death. Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of my bands that I can never get enough of, regardless of what they put out. One Hot Minute is widely regarded as their worst record, yet I still find myself listening to a majority of songs off of it and digging them to shit. 

It's all personal preference, but that comes with a limit. They're not making music for you personally, their making music for the fans as a collective. It's sad that we can't just enjoy songs and musicians for what they are nowadays, everyone seems to be overly-critical when it comes to new releases. It seems that people can't let go of the Chili's older work (Californication, By The Way, Mother's Milk, Stadium Arcadium and Blood Sugar Sex Magik). A band's gotta evolve, but evolve too much or too little and you've got hell to pay. It's a hell of a tightrope to balance, and the Chili Pepper's are doing just fine. 

'We Turn Red' sounds like a song that was a throwaway from Blood Sugar Sex Magik or By The Way, but with a current twist. It feels it's way through a loud-soft-loud dynamic as opposed to the famed Pixies (and Nirvana) soft-loud-soft dynamic. The verses have an extra kick and flair of funk from Smith's pounding drums and Flea's distinctive bass, with Anthony Kiedis' ability to change his vocal pattern from his talk-singing to harmonies with Josh Kinghoffer in the chorus. It's as though the Chili's have managed to merge two songs together from the sheer difference between both the verse and chorus. 

And Klinghoffer's guitar is as it always is, unique to him. He isn't Frusciante, he's his own goddamn person. Give him some credit; he still brings the Chili flair albeit in his own way. We need to let go of Frusciante. It's time.