Graeme Thomson

The awfulness of the Red Hot Chili Peppers has always felt weirdly personal

The music is constructed from all the least likeable, least groovy bits of rock, funk, psychedelia and hip hop, with an added patina of plain stupidity

There are several examples of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' love for doggedly unmelodic, squelchy faux-funk on their new album Unlimited Love 
issue 16 April 2022

Squaring up to the prospect of a new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, I’m reminded of a vintage quote by Nick Cave: ‘I’m forever near a stereo saying, “What… is this garbage?” And the answer is always the Red Hot Chili Peppers.’ I can empathise. I don’t habitually harbour animus against artists I dislike, but something about the sheer scale of the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ awfulness has always felt weirdly personal.

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