“The Getaway” brings the Red Hot Chili Peppers back into discussion

L.A. alternative and funk rock band, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, released “The Getaway” this July, and the hype for this album has been incredible. This is the group’s first studio record since the release of “I’m With You” in 2011 and “The Getaway” was announced completely out of the blue.

The release of their single “Dark Necessities” in May garnered a massive amount of popularity and rose in the charts almost instantly. This single brought back the charm that was essential to their ‘90s sound. However, while some of the singles released before the whole album brought back the iconic sound of the classic tracks, others fell short of what I would expect from a band this popular.

Like their previous album, a lot of the tracks fall victim to drawn-out lyrics and over-produced sound. On tracks like “This Ticonderoga” the slow, echoing guitars become almost unbearable, which is upsetting because the best songs on this record are upbeat and have an outstanding drive to them.

What made this band so popular in the past was their fresh take on rock and funk, and the fact that they practically renamed the genre all together. All the strong points on this record still make it hard to redeem the bad ones.

The biggest problem on “The Getaway” is consistency. All the jumping around from song to song is sub-par when compared to previous albums. If this record had been consistently funky and upbeat, or consistently slow with a better underlying theme, this album would have provided a better experience.

Overall, this album is definitely not the worst this band has produced. The song is either very well made and produced, or seems to have been recklessly put together without any consistency in mind.