The Daily Beacon review of Niandra
1994, from The Daily Beacon (USA)
John Frusciante has emerged from the ashes of the Red Hot Chili Peppers with an introspective look into his decaying world. His new CD, titled Niandra Lades and Usually Just A T-shirt, is a twisted departure from the other recordings Frusciante has released. As I heard the first track on this CD I was immediately struck by the under-produced sound, combined with some of the sloppiest guitar on record. This was quickly rounded out by Frusciante’s voice that falls into the “cannot-sing-but-does-anyway-category”.
While the description sounds awful, the music is actually great. The CD recaptures a more adventurous time when musicians like Captain Beefheart were emerging with recordings that were so much more than music. Frusciante plays both guitar and piano on this CD. His guitar style has become extremely loose. The guitar sounds vary from discordant layers to something that sounds like it escaped from a music box, with recurring bits of brilliance popping up. Frusciante relies more on the overall canvas of sounds.
Each instrument combines with the other to achieve a sound that is refreshingly different from the current cluster of sterile, overproduced music. Frusciante’s piano playing is moving during the haunting track, Curtains. The untitled tracks 13-24 are a collage of low-fi recordings heavy on effects with musical motifs repeated at different speeds throughout the tracks. The songs flow into each other on this CD, making listening to it in whole more of an experience than something to surf through to your favorite song. The Bad Brains song The Big Takeover slides seamlessly into the track list in a powerful acoustic version. The track Blood On My Neck From Success has Frusciante overdriving the microphone with his impassioned vocals. For someone who cannot hold a tune, Frusciante uses his voice skillfully.
No matter how over-the-top he gets, it is obvious that he is sincere about his music and what he is saying. This cd is a really good four track experiment. Riddled with hisses and and halfway finished songs, this cd is a triumph of spirit over ability. It is nice to hear an accomplished artist strike out on his own, even if this release is just a long Captain Beefheart rip-off.
