"I consider my music to be Progressive Synth Pop, which says nothing about what it sounds like, but does describe my basic approach. I combine aspects of many styles of music and create my own musical forms by way of electronic instruments."
So said John Frusciante of his new EP Leftur-Lefr, which has now been released worldwide on CD, Vinyl, Digital Download and, rather unusually for this day and age, Cassette.
So, we can expect this record to be a little different from Frusciante's many previous solo releases, most of which have been mainly guitar, melody based material - And, it really is.
I myself am pretty unfamiliar with synth and electronic music, but clearly it is important to approach this record with an open mind. It is electronic, and it does feature guest vocals from the likes of RZA, Kinetic 9 and Rugged Monk, perhaps the strangest of which is on the track 'FM' which includes a very prominent drum track and rapping courtesy of RZA, although this by no means is an R&B or hip hop record. No, this feels like something else entirely. Something fresh.
John wrote, played all the intruments and engineered the entire EP, and I would say you can definitely feel his style here.
After listening to it three times so far, it really has warmed to me. It doesn't perhaps strike the same emotional chord as some of his previous work (my favourite of which being his albums Curtains and The Empyrean) although it feels warm, calming and very personal.
Perhaps my favourite track here is 'In My Light' a slow, beautiful track with John's beautiful melodic voice resonating throughout.
Although this feels very different indeed, this is still recognisable as Frusciante's work, and it really is beautiful.
Give it a chance, listen to it with headphones from start to finish. Listen to it more than just once or twice. It will grow on you.
