Red Hot Chili Peppers Indecent Exposure

Many figured that the Red Hot Chili Peppers' days as undisputed alternative kings were numbered after their lackluster 1995 release One Hot Minute, but like the great phoenix rising from the ashes, this legendary and influential outfit returned back to greatness with 1999's Californication. An obvious reason for their rebirth is the reappearance of guitarist John Frusciante (replacing Dave Navarro), who left the Peppers in 1992 and disappeared into a haze of hard drugs before cleaning up and returning to the fold in 1998. Frusciante was a main reason for such past band classics as 1989's Mother's Milk and 1991's Blood Sugar Sex Magik, and proves once and for all to be the quintessential RHCP guitarist. Anthony Kiedis' vocals have improved dramatically as well, while the rhythm section of bassist Flea and drummer Chad Smith remains one of rock's best…

Of all the major rock bands to come out of the ’90s, none have sounded as content to be themselves as the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Written and recorded during the same sessions as April 2022’s Unlimited Love, Return of the Dream Canteen features the same crystalline anthems (“Eddie,” “Roulette,” “The Drummer”) and liberatingly fun funk (“Fake as Fu@k,” “Tippa My Tongue”) they’ve been perfecting for 40 years. But what makes it remarkable is their ability to find variety even within the narrow band of their sound, whether it’s the waltz of “Copperbelly” or the moody, psychedelic “Bag of Grins,” both of which are stranger and more minimal than any other multiplatinum rock artist outside Led Zeppelin. Fans will note the return of guitarist John Frusciante and producer Rick Rubin (also present on Unlimited Love), but with all due respect, it’s beside the point: They serve an institution bigger than any man. In the band’s sparseness, they glimpse the ocean their California hearts can’t deny, and in Anthony Kiedis’ my-name-is-Tony-and-I’m-here-to-say raps an innocence that conjures summer, friendship, and, yes, love. May they never grow up.