Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * *
When an influence becomes distorted, the effects can be felt deep in the soul.
Time has a way of letting you know that all that think you are has either come crashing down around you, or that it is the moment in which you have arguably become a fixed point that no longer has the same persuasion, the same pull on the hearts as you once did, and contrary to popular belief, love is not unlimited, it has a line in which it can become blurred, concerned over, and perhaps ultimately, break.
It should have all been so different for The Red Hot Chili Peppers, a new album, the influence of returning John Frusciante weaving his immense power and quality upon the band, a number of years between albums into which absolute thought would have been dedicated to, and yet, whilst hearts aren’t broken, it will take an act of over optimistic will to see that Unlimited Love is anything more than a one night stand with no flowers, no follow up call to arrange a future date, and a scare that you might have been left with something burning in the oven.
Of course, it is entirely possible that the album was arranged to be something else instead and the vast majority are wrong, that the listener is focusing on a previous time and not moving on with the band in the way that they should; however, if you don’t release an album for six years and change your modus so spectacularly without giving the audience an inkling of the new face you are wearing, then you can’t expect them to recognise you, or appreciate you…no matter the size of the bouquet you bring to their door.
There are moments, pockets of a former love, the small flame which burns brightly, but like an old school crush, it is one built upon rose coloured memories, the missing time in between has done nothing to add to once what was. Lyrically it is to tracks such as Veronica, and Bastards Of Light which give off the largest smile.
Unlimited Love requires no boundaries, and such a belief is not good for the soul, it asks that you don’t preserve your integrity, that you dispense with reliability, and in the end, it can call time on what may have been a truly enjoyable relationship.
A feeling of artistic despair, a former love showing its age and refusing to acknowledge that the best is behind them; a pity for the Chili’s have always been, if nothing else, dynamic and attention-grabbing. That sadly is not the case in Unlimited Love.
Ian D. Hall