John Frusciante: Niandra Lades & Usually Just A T-Shirt : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

A meltdown project from the Chili Peppers guitarist that doesn't sound any better one decade later originally released in 1994, john frusciante's first solo album was notable mainly for sounding even shoddier than the early home recordings of Guided by Voices. Frusciante has given the Red Hot Chili Peppers some of their best hooks, but on Niandra LaDes the guitarist's eccentricities run seriously amok. Sounding like a string of four-track demos, the first part of the album is slightly more tuneful than the more ambient, experimental second section, but that's a minor distinction. Mostly what you get are Frusciante's acoustic-guitar scratchings and stream-of-conscious ramblings (sample song title: "Your Pussy's Glued to a Building on Fire"), with some bansheelike wailing that doesn't sound any better nine years after the fact. Note to all but the most hardcore Chili Peppers fans: Caveat emptor.

CHRISTIAN HOARD
(RS 929, August 21, 2003)