Given the luxury of Chili Pepper fame and a successful battle with
heroin, John Frusciante has developed his solo career in a direction
that allows him to explore the far reaches of his creativity. Most of
his 10 solo releases have been dark and seemingly borne from a
stream-of-consciousness. While that sounds self-serving, the results
are surprisingly listenable. On Empyrean, Frusciante once again
illuminates beautiful melodies constructed from deep, melancholy chord
structures. Though his latest is arguably his most accessible,
Frusciante is still appealing to musicians interested in connecting
with their inner junkie.
Caley MacLennan
This article appears in Mar 12-18, 2009.
