John Frusciante

'The Empyrean'

Chilis' freak-flag guitarist stretches (way) out.

Spin Rating0 of 10

John Frusciante's career away from the Red Hot Chili Peppers has been wildly, even exhaustingly, ambitious -- The Empyrean is his tenth solo album (and sixth since 2004). Unshackled again from the need to craft radio-ready riffs, the guitarist unfurls long-winded but beguiling keepers such as "Before the Beginning," a bittersweet, serpentine instrumental. "God" nods to effervescent, Zombies-style '60s pop, while he warbles in a charmingly fragile falsetto. But the highlight is set closer "After the Ending," a wobbly, synth-drenched power ballad that showcases Frusciante's knack for warping even the most hackneyed forms into intriguing new shapes.

By Shannon Zimmerman

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1 Cloud Nothings 'Attack on Memory'
2 Cloud Nothings 'Attack on Memory'
3 Kathleen Edwards 'Voyageur'
4 The Mark Lanegan Band 'Blues Funeral'
5 The Mark Lanegan Band 'Blues Funeral'
6 Leonard Cohen 'Old Ideas'
7 Escort 'Escort'
8 Escort 'Escort'
9 Escort 'Escort'
10 Himanshu 'Nehru Jackets'

John Frusciante

'The Empyrean'

The Mark Lanegan Band 'Blues Funeral'

Of Montreal 'Paralytic Stalks'

Van Halen 'A Different Kind of Truth'

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