Customer Reviews

DC EP

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At first I liked 'Dissolve' alot and then sort of breezed through the rest of the CD. a big mistake considdering I love John Frusciante and have for many years. I guess I was still coming down from the slightly harder ATAXIA release still. But after listening again, and closer this time, I realized these four songs are all incredible. 'Dissolve' being the highlight. Shifting through vocal styles and different guitar sounds. Especially at 4:03 into the song he, hits us with that signature picking that we love. I wish he kept it up for a bit longer. I love that part of the song. "goals' is a beutiful track that for some reason, reminds me of a mellow classic rock type of song. And on 'A Corner', John picks up the pace a bit and starts really jamming. I can't believe how wonderul this guy is. releasing so much awesome music over the last 6 months. All varying styles. You never know what to expect from John, well except greatness.

This may be John's shortest installment of his recent cd montage, but it's my opinion that this is his best one yet. All four songs are rather melodic, with my favorite being A Corner. If you listen closely, you can hear direct ties to Niandres Lades. This is probably my favorite aspect about this EP. Any fan of John should pick up this CD. Although it may be short, it gets the job done just as good as any other of John's solo endeavors.

Every time I hear of a new Frusciante album in the pipeline i always rush around finding out the release date. This is what i did with the DcEp and i was not dissapointed. Basically he has just carried on where he left off on The Will to Death but has gone into more detail. I know the chili peppers inside out having been a die hard fan for years and frusciante has gone through hell and now it seems on the other side of this he is writing some superb music. In my opinion the best song on the EP is IN A CORNER. Some beautiful vocals compliment a whimsical chord sequence that gel together into a gorgeous, mellow track. If you haven't already, you must buy this just to hear Frusciante at his best. Cant wait for his next release on the 26th October. Put that on your calender!!! Well done JOHN.

John Frusciante's latest venture into the musical beyond leads him into the realm of Ian Mackaye, famed frontman of Fugazi. This is the first album that John Frusciante has not actually produced (Other than his albums with the Red Hot Chili Peppers). Being an EP, it is a short 4 song, 14:49 minute album. That is my biggest complaint, as the price simply can't justify it. (Its cheaper than a regular album, but I think something like $7.99 would be more reasonable).

The album starts out with "Dissolve", a philosophical bender with a catchy guitar riff. Lyrics include "Just because you mean what you say/that's not saying/that you're so far into the clean." There are some guitar heroics in the song, but the most noticeable part of the song was no synthesizers. Yes, Frusciante did not use any synthesizers on the album, and I think it brings a more organic quality to the music, which is a very good thing!

"Goals" has the vibe of old Velvet Underground, the guitar riff is so reminisicient of something from Velver Underground & Nico, its haunting! Frusciante's voice seems extremely melacholy, this is him thinking about his past, his loves, and dreams that he had lost.

"A Corner" is another melacholy song, mainly about how people aren't open to new experiences in life. They are more concerned with not knowing anything than exposing themselves to different things. The solo invloves Frusciante using his voice as an extension to the guitar, so he'll sing notes, than play them in succession afterwards.. Its something he hasn't really done much before, but its very powerful and moving!

The album closes out with "Repeating". The guitar is gripping and won't let go, pulling all of the heart strings you have. Its a fitting end to the album, very emotional.

The album gives the impression that Frusciante is still not over what transpired those many years ago. His playing reflects that, its simplistic, with emphasis on the timing between chords. He also plays bass, but again they're simple patterns which complement the guitar and never to drown it out in anyway. Drums are used to maintain a beat, and that's about it. Its a slightly different direction in his music, but similar in more ways than not.

I spent 9 dollars on this cd; about $3.00 more than I typically spend on a pre-owned full-length LP. Amazing, though, is that John's latest work is as mesmerizing and moving for its fifteen minute entirety as any 60 minute album has ever been for me. It's classic John through and through, except the lack of synthesizer and addition of Jerry Busher on drums bring a more intimate, raw feel. The songwriting is superb, especially on "dissolve," and John's vocals are beautifully distinct. Overall, this EP left me so inspired and moved that i would've paid full $18 LP price for it under any circumstances. Highly honest and emotional, JF's DC EP is a wonderfully beautiful piece

This CD makes it seem like Ataxia never even existed. This is so different from every other CD John has created. This is probably the best out of the first 3 of his feast of CD's. So soft, so mellow, great guitar rifts, and John's voice is more perfect than ever. I couldn't believe my ears when I heard "Dissolve." And John's Na-Na-Na's at the end of "A Corner" ends the song perfectly. Every song is great. The CD is only 15 minutes long, but the most brilliant 15 minutes I've heard in a long time. That's why the CD is only 8 dollars. I'd still pay 18 for this one. This is an incredible record. John Frusciante is my idol.

There could be seventeen other reviews of the DC EP with the same title as mine. But that's because this album is exactly that. At first I didn't like some of the stuff on here, but I never trust my first impressions of music anyway. All 4 songs are excellent. But the length for the money makes this primarily a buy for existing Frusciantephiles. (Yes, I did just invent that word. You know what I mean.) I (almost) always listen to CD's all the way through, so for me the shortness was an issue as it made me have to get up and change the CD very quickly. If you own The Will to Death, I reccommend you burn a CD with TWTD first and the DC EP tracks afterwards. (AAAAH! Chill out, I would never pirate the Frusc-man's music. I own both and all.) For me this is the least essential of his library, but still awesome and on par.

This is an amazing ep with 4 perfectly crafted pop songs. John's singing is really good here and the backing vocals are really ethereal sounding. The guitar playing is really good and the songwriting is some of the best that he has done ever. This is pretty much what i have been waiting for him to do since niandra. Buy it if you like ANY of his music at all. Beautiful.

... no not really. But I know what you're thinking: "Just four songs? Is this really worth my time?" I'm here to say, to you, that it is. "Dissolve", "Goals", "A Corner" and "Repeating" make it worth your while. The first day I bought DC EP, I listened to this album like five times. Frusciante always has this thing to where he makes his lyrics true, so much like Yoda from Star Wars or Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings. Music like this should be appreciated.
That's why I totally recommend this album to any Frusciante or Red Hot Chili Peppers fan.

Released in September 2004; DC EP was the third in the series of albums by John Frusciante. In a change from previous records, where Josh Klinghoffer drummed; it was another of John's favourite drummers called Jerry Busher who took the role. The reason behind the name DC EP was because the record was recorded in Inner Ear Studios in Washington DC which is where Fugazi recorded many of their records. The link between Fugazi and Jerry was that he was Fugazi's sound tech guy. Although it has the least number of tracks and is the shortest in length out of the six albums, at only 14 minutes and 45 seconds; it certainly does not disappoint.

The four tracks are `Dissolve', `Goals', `A Corner' and `Repeating'. The songs all have the same feel about them. I wouldn't say any of them really stand out but at the same time there are certainly no fillers. They are all good solid, chilled-out songs with grooves which are now instantly recognisable as Frusciante's own. The way the songs twist and turn is one of the key features. In addition there is not really any repetition. For me this keeps things interesting and refreshing, in an age where many bands have standard formulas for writing songs.

Sometimes I wonder what genre Frusciante's music would come under, obviously some albums come under different genres, for example `Sphere' I would put under electonica and `Ataxia' I would put under prog rock. But it is becoming apparent that many of his albums including this one, `Will to death', `shadows' and `to record', fall in to the one. Although each going in different directions, I would describe them generally as soft melodic rock with a jagged edge delivered through John's passionate vocals. There is an air of simplicity which surrounds the songs on these albums. Furthermore he achieves sounds and effects which enhance them into another dimension. It's not as straight forward as just calling it stripped down, soft, melodic rock/pop. In fact you could call it progressive melodic rock/pop. Although the length is not reminiscent of what you would usually associate with prog rock bands. The song structures, instruments used and effects achieved definitely are progressive. As they push conventional, soft rock/pop songs to another level.

Overall this is a great release, and certainly one to add to the collection. The four tracks act like a team, each contributing evenly to make this an all round quality EP; full of heavenly music.