04 November 2011
With lyrics like “You were the foreskin, I was the real head,” sung over MIDI effects just two tracks in, Jane’s Addiction prove that even through multiple hiatuses, lineup changes and rehab stints, they remain accessible and diverse with each hedonistic album release.
Despite spearheading grunge since the early ‘80s, The Great Escape Artist is the Californian quartet’s first album in eight years. Record number four sees the band team with producer Rich Costey (Weezer, Muse, My Chemical Romance) and TV On The Radio’s Dave Sitek (The Foals, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) who pitched in as writer, programmer, keys and bass player. In fact, with the many bases covered by Sitek, he’s ended up playing on more tracks than the band’s other unofficial frontman, Dave Navarro.
The Great Escape Artist is also the first time in the band’s 25-year career where the use o f synths, MIDI edits and effects can be heard. As the album title suggests, the band have become heavily addicted to swapping one dependence for another, this time around they’re fiends for a fresh distraction, and thankfully it doesn’t translate as a desperate attempt for relevance, as Jane’s Addiction have never been an act to seek it.
Just as Ziggy Stardust and Iggy Pop centralised their efforts around escapism through bizarre, antagonistic vocals and sophisticated chord progressions, this record follows a similar line, with tracks like Twisted Tales and Ultimate Reason weaving and merging into one another.
Elsewhere, early track Curiosity Kills stands alone as reverberating, organised fervency with frontman Perry Farrell delivering impeccable vocals that parallel the band’s early work.
Just when you thought 2003’s Strays was as varied and youthful a fusion as Jane’s Addiction had the ability to produce, The Great Escape Artist retains their spot on a pedestal of their own making.
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