News

Listen: Red Hot Chili Peppers release new album Unlimited Love with returning guitarist John Frusciante

It’s here! Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 12th album Unlimited Love – their first with guitarist John Frusciante since 2006 – is finally out…

Listen: Red Hot Chili Peppers release new album Unlimited Love with returning guitarist John Frusciante
Words:
Emily Carter
Photo:
Clara Balzary

After a long, loooong wait since 2006’s massive Stadium Arcadium album, the Red Hot Chili Peppers have shared their first new record with returning guitarist John Frusciante.

Entitled Unlimited Love, the band's 12th LP also sees them teaming up with legendary producer and collaborator Rick Rubin for the first time in over a decade, producing a whopping 17 songs – including singles Not The One, Poster Child and Black Summer – as a result.

"Our only goal is to get lost in the music," say the band. "We – John, Anthony, Chad and Flea – spent thousands of hours, collectively and individually, honing our craft and showing up for one another, to make the best album we could. Our antennae attuned to the divine cosmos, we were just so damn grateful for the opportunity to be in a room together, and, once again, try to get better. Days, weeks and months spent listening to each other, composing, jamming freely, and arranging the fruit of those jams with great care and purpose. The sounds, rhythms, vibrations, words and melodies had us enrapt.

"We yearn to shine a light in the world, to uplift, connect, and bring people together. Each of the songs on our new album Unlimited Love, is a facet of us, reflecting our view of the universe. This is our life’s mission. We work, focus, and prepare, so that when the biggest wave comes, we are ready to ride it. The ocean has gifted us a mighty wave and this record is the ride that is the sum of our lives. Thank you for listening, we hope you enjoy it.

"Rock out motherfuckers!"

Listen to Unlimited Love below:

Earlier this week, in an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 (watch below), Anthony Kiedis explained of how reuniting with John came about: "One more time for whatever reason the universe saw it fit to interject this band with another giant shot of plasma. Which has happened so many times, and never intentionally, and usually tragically and fortuitously at the same time. People quitting, people dying, people returning, new people showing up, beautiful people. But left to our own devices, we probably would've withered on the vine somewhere along the line. As we all do at some point. And all will.

"But it wasn't quite time for us to do that yet. And John psychically reached out to both Flea and I, because we heard it at the same time and had that conversation, where like, 'I have to talk to you. No, I have to talk to you. No, can I speak first? You can speak just as soon as I tell you what I'm thinking.' And we were both thinking this. And then we're like, 'What? You too?!' So yeah, John had all of this energy and emotive notions stored up inside of him. And it's so clear when he writes and when he plays. And it's really fun to listen to because it's just – it's like you said – it's not just notes. It's like just sound and emotion and colour. And it's a bit effortless for him in a way, because he's not worried about it. He's not trying to play the right notes. He's just trying to play the notes that are truly him. And we covered some bases, but it was all by accident. It was not by design. We didn't have that analytical conversation of, 'Let's play one of these, let's play one of those. Let's just play, and we'll start gathering, and then we'll build and write and write and write and write. And maybe we'll keep all of it. Maybe we'll keep some of it…'"

Catch RHCP live at the following dates this year:

June

4 Seville, Spain – Estadio La Cartuja De Sevilla=
7 Barcelona, Spain – Estadi Olimpic=
10 Nijmegen, Netherlands – Goffertpark=
15 Budapest, Hungary — Puskas Stadium=
18 Firenze, Italy – Firenze Rocks (festival date)
22 Manchester, UK – Emirates Old Trafford=
25 London, UK – London Stadium~
29 Dublin, Ireland – Marlay Park~

July

1 Glasgow, UK – Bellahouston Park~
3 Leuven, Belgium – Rock Werchter (festival date)
5 Cologne, Germany – RheinEnergieStadium=
8 Paris, France – Stade de France~
12 Hamburg, Germany – Volksparkstadion=
23 Denver, CO – Empower Field at Mile High*
27 San Diego, CA – Petco Park*
29 Santa Clara, CA – Levi’s Stadium+
31 Los Angeles, CA – SoFi Stadium+

August

3 Seattle, WA – T‑Mobile Park^
6 Las Vegas, NV – Allegiant Stadium^^
10 Atlanta, GA – Truist Park^
12 Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium^
14 Detroit, MI – Comerica Park^
17 E. Rutherford, NJ – Metlife Stadium^
19 Chicago, IL – Soldier Field^
21 Toronto, ON – Rogers Centre^
30 Miami, FL – Hard Rock Stadium^

September

1 Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium^
3 Philadelphia, PA – Citizens Bank Park^
8 Washington, DC – Nationals Park^
10 Boston, MA – Fenway Park# (on sale date TBA)
15 Orlando, FL – Camping World Stadium^
18 Arlington, TX – Globe Life Field^

=with special guests A$AP Rocky and Thundercat
~with special guests Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals and Thundercat
*with special guests HAIM and Thundercat
+with special guests Beck and Thundercat
^with special guests The Strokes and Thundercat
^^with special guests The Strokes and King Princess
# with special guests St. Vincent and Thundercat

Read this: The 20 greatest Red Hot Chili Peppers songs – ranked

Check out more:

Now read these

The best of Kerrang! delivered straight to your inbox three times a week. What are you waiting for?