The guitar force behind the sinuous art-metal of Jane's Addiction and the dark-and-disturbed incarnation of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has found a home for his first solo venture. |

Dave Navarro will release his band Spread's debut, recorded with Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, on his own Spread Entertainment label in conjunction with Clean Slate Records (owned by his manager Andy Slater) and Sony Music.

The album, titled Unicorns and Rainbows: The Pelican, is tentatively slated for a February release, to be followed by a tour. According to a Navarro spokesman, Smith is not a permanent member of Spread and will be replaced by another drummer and backing band when the group hits the road. Most of Unicorns and Rainbows, including vocals, was recorded by Navarro.

The Spread website (www.6767.com), maintained by Navarro, includes sound clips and lyrics to five Spread songs, "Easy Girl," "Mourning Son," "Everything," "Not For Nothing" and "Rexall," which includes the line "There is no love left in your eyes/There is no love between your thighs." Still, nothing's shocking.

BLAIR R. FISCHER(September 25, 1998)