It’s always quite a shock when a band announces they are going to drop two full-length album in the same year. I felt not less shocked when the Red Hot Chili Peppers announced Return of the Dream Canteen was going to drop just a couple of days before I was due to see them live at Austin City Limits.
If I look back at RHCP’s discography timeline, there’s always been a good number of years between each release, and with the six year gap since The Getaway, I thought we were pretty lucky to get a 17-track banger from the guys. Well, turns out reuniting with Jon and the pandemic was very fruitful for them! They busted out another 17-track banger! In six months no less! Now, I’m sure they’ve been sitting on this new batch of songs for a little bit, but still. Very impressive. Straight away, I can say this new record serves as a nice companion to Unlimited Love, and that’s pretty cool. These would be great to play back to back on a long road-trip.
I say it’s a nice companion album because they share a lot of similarities style-wise. This album, like the last, was a lot more funk-driven than anything I’ve really heard from them in the past. I know that’s a style they always incorporate, but I would say that was the most predominate here. Sure, there were some juicy guitar licks, a thumping bassline, and thrashing drums, but altogether they made for a real groovy take. I’m here for it! You best believe I got fifty percent of a dresser built while I was listening to this album the other day (a little late to the party, I know). It really relaxed me, but also had me flailing my arms in some spur-of-the-moment dance moves in between steps.
Given that I’d heard “Tippa My Tongue” before, it comes as no surprise that it was my favorite off the album, but I know others will certainly stand out when I give it another proper listen with my undivided attention. With that being said, nothing was off-putting to my ears this first go-round, so that’s always a great success in my book! I know videos exist for a couple other tracks, and “Eddie” did make onto the setlist at Austin City Limits, but I still need to spend some more time with those tracks. Overall, though, I was pleased with what I heard.
Obviously, if you’re a RHCP fan, you’ll love this album just as much as all of their other work. No question there.