Less than a year ago, John Frusciante released Outsides, an EP that began to wrap up the hip hop/progressive synth pop trek that started with PBX Funicular Intaglio Zone in 2012. This journey is complete with Enclosure, Frusciante’s twelfth studio album released April 8th through Record Collection.
By this time we are all accustomed to the obscure vintage synth/electro pop sounds and general chaos that John Frusciante brings with each new release and his latest release is just that. It’s nothing new if you’ve heard PBX and Outsides. As usual, all sounds are created and produced by Frusciante himself.
There was a small sliver of me that hoped that we would maybe hear something different this time around. I disliked this album, something I’ve come to expect when listening to anything new from John Frusciante. But the catch here is that while the music falls under the same “progressive synth pop” genre that it’s predecessors do and at face value appears to be nothing new, I did hear something different on Enclosure. The songs just sound a little more well-rounded; there’s less noodling around in synth-pop land and more of a focus on the songwriting and structure of the songs.
But that doesn’t change the fact that this album is 95% of the same material we’ve been hearing for Frusciante’s past three releases. The formula at this point seems to be introduce the most 80’s sounding synth possible, layer the most ridiculous hip hop breakbeat over top of that, and drown Frusciante’s falsetto in reverb. Oh, and record all tracks independently of themselves to get the most out of order sound possible. It’s rather old by the end of the first track, “Shining Desert”, and hard to keep listening to by the second track “Sleep”. If you manage to sit through “Run”, the next two tracks are the highest points in recent John Frusciante history.
If all tracks on Enclosure offered the composed, in order, and evocative feel that “Stage” and “Fanfare” did, I would welcome this “musical idea” with open arms. “Stage” sounds like it would fit on Frusciante’s tenth studio album The Empyrean, and “Fanfare” is what the rest of these songs should sound like. If those tracks aren’t enough, the next one, “Cinch” is the savior of Enclosure. For once, we get a simple 4/4 drum beat accompanying an intricate guitar solo that’s seemingly in time, something seriously lacking on this album. The final portion of Enclosure does nothing more than leave a bad taste in my mouth.
Here’s to hoping that the next John Frusciante release won’t be so blatantly unconventional and hard to listen to, because I really can’t take any more.
RATING: 2/5