On The Getaway, its second album following the departure of key member and guitarist John Frusciante, US rock titans the Red Hot Chili Peppers finally seem to be shaking things up a bit.

The careful baby steps that audibly stifled 2011’s I’m With You, its first post-Frusciante release, makes way for a record that pushes the band’s regular funk-pop-rock formula into something a little more askew, though still retaining the band’s strength or — depending on who you talk to — weaknesses at the forefront.

After years of working with producer Rick Rubin, the band brought in musician/producer Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse to lead the way. The result is a record that exudes excitement — or at least as much “excitement” as a massively successful over 30-year-old band can be.

Burton expands the band’s sonic palettes by resetting its tried and true formula to include space for textures and the aural jams the band often brings live but have rarely found their way onto its studio recordings.

At this point, anyone’s enjoyment of a Chili Peppers record depends on when they jumped on board as a fan. Would it be the LA band’s early pulsating rawness, the psycho-sexual funk of its 1990s heyday (the huge hits “Under the Bridge” and “Give It Away” are practically public domain entertainment at this point), or its late 1990s to mid-2000s resurrection as stadium melodic rock mainstays?

Turns out The Getaway (Warner Bros.) is basically a continuation of the Chili Peppers more than a decade foray into party daddy funkiness, only shaken up well enough to spit out a good amount of bittersweet merriness to standouts such as “Dark Necessities”, “The Longest Wave” and “Death of a Samurai”.

Those holding their breath for sweaty funk attacks better hold their breath; this is a record that, by the Chili Peppers’ standards at least, sound pretty solemn. It’s a slow charging attack full of sonic surprises not usually found on the band’s recordings.

Fans of anything past 1999’s “Californication” will find a good deal to bop to here, melodically and instrumentally, but the blanketing ambience of spacey moodiness will take more time to get used to.

But when it does, there’s a satisfaction, as the Chili Peppers’ predictable verse-chorus-verse arrangements is challenged, letting the instruments — especially Flea’s bass and Chad Smith’s drumming — slither in less-predictable manners than usual. In an ironic way, this is perhaps a record that Frusciante — known for his penchant for experimental music — could have elevated in many ways, maybe even enjoy making.

“Samurai” moves into progressive rock territory with multiple parts, shifting rhythms, and patient sonic changes; “The Hunter” — an ode by vocalist Anthony Kiedis to his father — and “Sick Love”, which features Elton John and his long-time associate Bernie Taupin, are 1970s sounding introspective space ballads and funky AOR respectively.

Meanwhile, “This Ticonderoga”, the hardest song on the record, flips the usual rock approach with stuttering, almost backwards-sounding rhythms and walls of distorted guitars.

Much has been made about Kiedis’ less-than-cerebral approach to lyric writing. And sure enough, there are still a good amount of sexuality and Ca-li-for-nee-ya odes here, but the good almost outweighs the bad.

One reason for this is guitarist Josh Klinghoffer’s increasing prevalence in the mix, as well as him seemingly finding his place within the band.

Of course, Flea’s bass playing will still lead the arrangements, but Klinghoffer’s guitar smartly mutates throughout the songs; from providing noise textures, accompanying the rhythm with conventional and unconventional guitar sounds, to leading with fuzzy solos, the youngest member of the band walks aside Kiedis in an effective vocal-mirroring way.

The Getaway is a fun record that benefits plenty from its production. Turns out the textural adventuring really does force the band to shift its approach without abandoning its radio-ready melodicism.

It’s almost a shame that no matter what, however, the Red Hot Chili Peppers brand (and in a way the Kiedis & Flea brand) ensures that most will come into the record with preconceived notions of what the band is and what it is capable of. Give it a chance; it’s actually fun with only a regular dose of “Californi-aaaaaa”.

— Marcel Thee

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