John Frusciante
To Record Only Water For Ten Days

THE REVIEW

If the two albums composed during Frusciante's dark period were insane visions, sometimes evocative and sometimes oppressive, the third album by the good guitarist proves to be the calm after the storm.
The songs are more complete, more designed, and therefore more enjoyable, but in my opinion, slightly less engaging. “To Record Only Water For Ten Days” is a good pop rock album, enriched by John's particular meditative and introspective vein and the original use of the synth. It is certainly more conventional music, but it remains an inspired work.

It starts off great: “Going Inside” is an excellent track; the screeching and inspired guitar blends with the rich wall of sound and the cavernous voice to create something engaging, subliminal, and powerful. In “Someone’s” we find a more intense search for vocal harmony and a decent rhythmic work, vaguely inspired by electronics. “The First Season” calls to mind the past's crazy ballads, even though it has nothing in common with them; here, we find Frusciante more attentive to the balance of compositions rather than their strength. This track stands out for the magnificent central tension crescendo, painted by the acoustic guitar, sound effects, and shadowy atmosphere. “Wind Up Space” is a splendid solitary song; it seems like you can hear the wind shaking the tree branches. Excellent.
Then we find good rock tracks like “Away & Anywhere” and others tinged with electronics like “Remain”; delightful melodies and powerful rhythms in “Fallout” and enveloping and subdued atmospheres in “With No One”. The work has good continuity, and it's hard to find trivial songs. The guitarist is careful not to lapse into the obvious, yet maintaining a much more accessible appeal compared to the past. This is how sweet instrumentals like “Ramparts” and “Murderers” are born; Frusciante knows where to aim, knows his strengths, and exploits them adequately, always creating captivating and successful riffs.
“Invisible Movement” and “Representing” do not escape this rule; always perfectly balanced between electronic rhythms and the guitarist's particular vaporous melody.
At the end, we find the intense “In Rime”, which almost takes us back to the past, “Saturation”, a delicate synthetic lullaby, and “Moments Have You”, perhaps the most brilliant ballad of the album that accompanies uncertain words; a sort of meeting point between past, present, and future:

“Cuz inside actions there's no time/ I hear you inside a space/ An instant is forever now/ A future fluctuates".

“To Record Only Water For Ten Days” is a good work; Frusciante, having found serenity, gives free rein to his creativity, creating an exquisite interplay between intimate melodies and polychromatic rock, heavily colored by electronics and pervaded by an unmistakable sense of rebirth.