| John Frusciante — Enclosure (2014) |
John Frusciante — Enclosure
♦♦♦ Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist whose solo records range from psychedelic abstraction to off–kilter electronica.
Enclosure is the twelfth solo album by John Frusciante.
♦♦♦ “When the intellectual part of guitar playing overrides the spiritual, you don’t get to extreme heights.” — John Frusciante (Rolling Stone, February 2007)
Birth name: John Anthony Frusciante
Also known as: Trickfinger(s)
Born: March 5, 1970, New York City, United States
Location: Santa Monica, California
Album release: April 8th, 2014, April 7th in the UK/EU
Recorded: 2012 — 2013
Record Label: Caroline International (P&D)/Record Collection
Duration: 44:24>
Tracks:
All songs written and composed by John Frusciante.
01. Shining Desert 4:47
02. Sleep 4:23
03. Run 2:15
04. Stage 3:10
05. Fanfare 4:51
06. Cinch 6:26
07. Zone 4:07
08. Crowded 3:48
09. Excuses 3:54
10. Vesiou (Japanese bonus track)
11. Scratch (Japanese bonus track) 6:43
Notable instruments:
♦♦ 1962 Fender Stratocaster
♦♦ 1963 Fender Telecaster
♦♦ 1955 Gretsch White Falcon
♦♦ 1962 Fender Jaguar
♦♦ 1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom
♦♦ Yamaha SG
Description:
♦♦ Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante is streaming a track from his upcoming solo album, Enclosure, which will be released April 8 via Record Collection.
♦♦ "Enclosure, upon its completion, was the record which represented the achievement of all the musical goals I had been aiming at for the previous five years," Frusciante said in an announcement.
♦♦ "It was recorded simultaneously with Black Knights' Medieval Chamber and as different as the two albums appear to be, they represent one investigative creative thought process. What I learned from one fed directly into the other. Enclosure is presently my last word on the musical statement that began with PBX."
Website: http://www.johnfrusciante.com/
MySpace: https://myspace.com/johnfrusciantemusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnfrusciante
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Johnfrusciante
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/recordcollectionmusic
REVIEW
Tessa Jeffers; February 21, 2014
♦♦ A dark, pounding synth pulses as John Frusciante’s falsetto spreads over it and chants, “I’ll tell you … I’ll tell you,” in the opening track of his latest solo excursion. ♦♦ This juxtaposition is just one recipe from a composer who knows how to build authentically and has become extremely gifted at layering imagery over catchy melodies. Even if some of the ideas spiral off into dissonant directions, the parts still jell.
♦♦ Just as Frusciante’s last few albums were forays into the prog–pop landscape, Enclosure uses drum machines and expansive effects to set the mood. Though Frusciante interjects guitar solos seemingly at will, some fans may feel the genius guitar playing he’s known for is understated here, especially when compared to the influential work of his past. Yet over the nine tracks, Frusciante’s solos — like the one that kidnaps the entire last half of “Stage” — arrive not as mere tangents, but as the main event: Guitar is an oscillating vehicle that carries his music into new planes.
♦♦ Several tunes give off a refreshing ’80s vibe without going too far — think good ’80s, like Peter Gabriel but with the sensibilities of Radiohead. Frusciante uses effects and organ sounds to create depth behind his strong voice as it volleys through verses, and he skillfully weaves complex guitar and keyboard harmonies into the accompaniment. All tracks have vocals except “Cinch,” a more than six–minute opus framed entirely by distorted guitar arpeggios and fretboard flexing.
♦♦ Frusciante is pushing the limits of his singer–songwriter and multi–instrumentalist palette, and the art he’s making is a good marriage of groove and noodle, possessing the kind of balance that keeps a song a song without getting too messy or alienating the audience. It might be difficult to hear the songs as a cohesive statement across the entire album, but each individual gem is such an enjoyable capsule of creation and tinkering that it’s quite an adventurous and athletic listen.
Must–hear track: “Crowded”
Fortaken: http://www.premierguitar.com/
_______________________________________________________________
Notes:
♦♦ Tessa is a Nebraska native who began her career in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her first assignment was to review a Poison performance at the state fair, and she’s since interviewed a menagerie of musicians — from Pete Townshend to Bonnie Raitt, James Valentine, Tori Amos, T.S. Monk, and Henry Rollins, as well as members of the Flaming Lips, 311, and the Blue Man Group. In addition to writing for SPIN, Tessa worked for three years as an arts editor and investigative reporter for the Omaha Reader. Her most challenging role to date was working as a managing editor tasked with reinventing a lifestyle magazine in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. She’s now back from her adventure abroad and ready to rumble with PG.
_______________________________________________________________
Discography:
♦♦ Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T–Shirt (1994)
♦♦ Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997)
♦♦ To Record Only Water for Ten Days (2001)
♦♦ From the Sounds Inside (2001)
♦♦ Shadows Collide with People (2004)
♦♦ The Will to Death (2004)
♦♦ Inside of Emptiness (2004)
♦♦ Curtains (2005)
♦♦ The Empyrean (2009)
♦♦ PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone (2012)
♦♦ Enclosure (2014)
_______________________________________________________________
| John Frusciante — Enclosure (2014) |
♦♦♦ Red Hot Chili Peppers’ guitarist whose solo records range from psychedelic abstraction to off–kilter electronica.
Enclosure is the twelfth solo album by John Frusciante.
♦♦♦ “When the intellectual part of guitar playing overrides the spiritual, you don’t get to extreme heights.” — John Frusciante (Rolling Stone, February 2007)
Birth name: John Anthony Frusciante
Also known as: Trickfinger(s)
Born: March 5, 1970, New York City, United States
Location: Santa Monica, California
Album release: April 8th, 2014, April 7th in the UK/EU
Recorded: 2012 — 2013
Record Label: Caroline International (P&D)/Record Collection
Duration: 44:24>
Tracks:
All songs written and composed by John Frusciante.
01. Shining Desert 4:47
02. Sleep 4:23
03. Run 2:15
04. Stage 3:10
05. Fanfare 4:51
06. Cinch 6:26
07. Zone 4:07
08. Crowded 3:48
09. Excuses 3:54
10. Vesiou (Japanese bonus track)
11. Scratch (Japanese bonus track) 6:43
Notable instruments:
♦♦ 1962 Fender Stratocaster
♦♦ 1963 Fender Telecaster
♦♦ 1955 Gretsch White Falcon
♦♦ 1962 Fender Jaguar
♦♦ 1969 Gibson Les Paul Custom
♦♦ Yamaha SG
Description:
♦♦ Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante is streaming a track from his upcoming solo album, Enclosure, which will be released April 8 via Record Collection.
♦♦ "Enclosure, upon its completion, was the record which represented the achievement of all the musical goals I had been aiming at for the previous five years," Frusciante said in an announcement.
♦♦ "It was recorded simultaneously with Black Knights' Medieval Chamber and as different as the two albums appear to be, they represent one investigative creative thought process. What I learned from one fed directly into the other. Enclosure is presently my last word on the musical statement that began with PBX."
Website: http://www.johnfrusciante.com/
MySpace: https://myspace.com/johnfrusciantemusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/johnfrusciante
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Johnfrusciante
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/recordcollectionmusic
REVIEW
Tessa Jeffers; February 21, 2014
♦♦ A dark, pounding synth pulses as John Frusciante’s falsetto spreads over it and chants, “I’ll tell you … I’ll tell you,” in the opening track of his latest solo excursion. ♦♦ This juxtaposition is just one recipe from a composer who knows how to build authentically and has become extremely gifted at layering imagery over catchy melodies. Even if some of the ideas spiral off into dissonant directions, the parts still jell.
♦♦ Just as Frusciante’s last few albums were forays into the prog–pop landscape, Enclosure uses drum machines and expansive effects to set the mood. Though Frusciante interjects guitar solos seemingly at will, some fans may feel the genius guitar playing he’s known for is understated here, especially when compared to the influential work of his past. Yet over the nine tracks, Frusciante’s solos — like the one that kidnaps the entire last half of “Stage” — arrive not as mere tangents, but as the main event: Guitar is an oscillating vehicle that carries his music into new planes.
♦♦ Several tunes give off a refreshing ’80s vibe without going too far — think good ’80s, like Peter Gabriel but with the sensibilities of Radiohead. Frusciante uses effects and organ sounds to create depth behind his strong voice as it volleys through verses, and he skillfully weaves complex guitar and keyboard harmonies into the accompaniment. All tracks have vocals except “Cinch,” a more than six–minute opus framed entirely by distorted guitar arpeggios and fretboard flexing.
♦♦ Frusciante is pushing the limits of his singer–songwriter and multi–instrumentalist palette, and the art he’s making is a good marriage of groove and noodle, possessing the kind of balance that keeps a song a song without getting too messy or alienating the audience. It might be difficult to hear the songs as a cohesive statement across the entire album, but each individual gem is such an enjoyable capsule of creation and tinkering that it’s quite an adventurous and athletic listen.
Must–hear track: “Crowded”
Fortaken: http://www.premierguitar.com/
_______________________________________________________________
Notes:
♦♦ Tessa is a Nebraska native who began her career in journalism at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her first assignment was to review a Poison performance at the state fair, and she’s since interviewed a menagerie of musicians — from Pete Townshend to Bonnie Raitt, James Valentine, Tori Amos, T.S. Monk, and Henry Rollins, as well as members of the Flaming Lips, 311, and the Blue Man Group. In addition to writing for SPIN, Tessa worked for three years as an arts editor and investigative reporter for the Omaha Reader. Her most challenging role to date was working as a managing editor tasked with reinventing a lifestyle magazine in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. She’s now back from her adventure abroad and ready to rumble with PG.
_______________________________________________________________
Discography:
♦♦ Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T–Shirt (1994)
♦♦ Smile from the Streets You Hold (1997)
♦♦ To Record Only Water for Ten Days (2001)
♦♦ From the Sounds Inside (2001)
♦♦ Shadows Collide with People (2004)
♦♦ The Will to Death (2004)
♦♦ Inside of Emptiness (2004)
♦♦ Curtains (2005)
♦♦ The Empyrean (2009)
♦♦ PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone (2012)
♦♦ Enclosure (2014)
_______________________________________________________________