Shots were fired and songs were written yesterday when The A.V. Club responded to the news of a new Red Hot Chili Peppers album by thoughtfully composing lyrics that reflect the tube-sock rockers’ aesthetic. Now the band has released its new single, “Dark Necessities,” in what is almost certainly an effort to clarify which California region is being highlighted in their first album in five years.
The Chili Peppers broke with tradition on The Getaway by working with Danger Mouse instead of their studio stalwart Rick Rubin. The single is standard Chili Peppers fare, with plenty of slap bass and staccato lyric dropping. Obviously, “Dark Necessities” was written well before we Exquisite Corpsed a song for them, but that just makes the “you don’t know my mind” line kind of prescient. But given the title and the cover art, we could eventually learn that RHCP were inspired by The Jungle Book.
The Getaway will be released on June 17, and preorders are now available.