Jane's Addiction
The Great Escape Artist

The Jane's Addiction returns with a new album titled "The Great Escape Artist." After the fleeting appearance of Eric Avery on bass during live concerts (the group's original bassist), the American band once again relies on Chris Chaney, although not officially as a member of the band, which currently consists of Perry Farrell (vocals), Dave Navarro (guitar), and Stephen Perkins (drums). A few months ago, Farrell announced the new sounds of the album, indicating that they were influenced by Radiohead and Muse. If the union of the two bands would lead to the result of "The Great Escape Artist," perhaps it's better that they remain separate. The album isn't bad in its intentions, but even in the case of Jane's, as with other historical bands, those expecting a return to the metal-glam-psychedelic of the 80s-90s will be a bit disappointed.

"Underground," the opening song of the album, is one of the most successful, with a great rhythm and Dave Navarro who unleashes his old-style solo; there won't be many such solos in the album.

The album continues with "End To The Lies," which opens with a great bass and drum riff with a psychedelic background, the imprint of "Strays" (the band's previous album) is still quite evident.

"Curiosity Kills" represents a bit of a shift towards more pop sounds, unfortunately, these (negative) influences will be quite noticeable throughout the album.

The second single from the band is "Irresistible Force," an intro with excellent rhythm and bass, a pretty catchy chorus, and a good solo at the end, another successful track.

The subsequent songs unfortunately highlight the pop sounds seeking MTV and similar stuff, too predictable with little bite and ideas, I also notice some similarities with Linkin Park. Of significance in the last tracks is Navarro's solo in "Splash a Little Water On It," and "Words Right Out of My Mouth" where you can somewhat revisit the old Jane's, at least in the intro. The rest of the songs are quite flat, with catchy choruses but nothing more.

In conclusion, Navarro appears a bit anonymous and perhaps devoid of ideas, definitely the album is a step back compared to "Strays," and who knows how many steps back compared to the other albums of the band. "The Great Escape Artist" is still listenable as a whole (the first part in particular), but it is certainly not a masterpiece, lacking ballads like "Summertime Rolls" or "Everybody's Friends," in short, I certainly expected better.

Rating 5.5