John Frusciante: D.C. EP : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The third release in a projected six-album outburst for 2004 from Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante is actually a four-song EP, produced in two days by Ian Mackaye (Minor Threat, Fugazi) at Inner Ear studios in Washington, D.C. It serves as a brief look into Frusciante's contemplative side. Whereas his officially released solo work features a wide palette of sonic colors, here, much like the acoustic demos available at his Web site (johnfrusciante.com), Frusciante plays it relatively straight (with drums and electricity), putting the songs centerstage. "Goals" is earnest singer-songwriterdom, offering "there's nothing I'm really supposed to do" over a plaintively strummed guitar that switches to color for its final thirty seconds. "A Corner" builds into a hummable, cathartic 'na-na-na-na-na' chorus. But it's Frusciante's overwhelming melodicism that powers these songs. With this natural gift, he may never stop this 'album of the month' club.