Unlimited Love is the twelfth studio album by the American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released through Warner Records on April 1, 2022.
The first single, "Black Summer", was released on February 4, 2022, and became the Chili Peppers' fourteenth number-one on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
They wondered if they could involve their former guitarist John Frusciante, who had recorded several albums with the Chili Peppers but left in 2009 and moved into making electronic music.
[6] Frusciante said: "Flea had put the idea [of rejoining] in my head and I was sitting there with the guitar thinking that I hadn't written any rock music in so long.
[9] The drummer, Chad Smith, said Frusciante "wanted to reconnect with the band that he fell in love with”, and Kiedis said the exercise was about getting "back to basics" and playing together without expectations.
[19][20] NME said it shared the "melancholic riffmaking, anthemic choruses and softly-sung melodies" of Frusciante's previous work with the Chili Peppers, but introduced new "grungey" and acoustic elements.
[38] On June 4, the Red Hot Chili Peppers began a global stadium tour, starting in Seville, Spain and that will continue into 2023 in support of Return of the Dream Canteen.
The shows are supported by acts including the Strokes, A$AP Rocky, Beck, Haim, St. Vincent, Anderson .Paak, Nas, Thundercat, King Princess and Post Malone.
"[47] Clash rated the album 9/10, with reviewer Isabella Miller describing it as a "celebration of union, friendship, and life, all manifested across 17 tracks.
"[51] In a glowing review, Paolo Ragusa of Consequence praised the lyrics and musicianship, writing that it is "fascinating to hear a band nearly forty years into their career try to reach their audience in a different way.
"[53] Sam Sodomsky of Pitchfork gave it 6.2 out of 10, saying the band "[balanced] the risk of self-parody with the need to live up to people's nostalgia, knowing they've already written the music they'll be remembered for but still wanting to keep the ride going".
[54] Mark Richardson of the Wall Street Journal said the album lacked energy and purpose, and that it "features their classic sound but little that's new or exciting".
[55] Phil Mongredien of The Guardian described the album as "bloated and self-indulgent ... with barely a memorable melody or thought-provoking lyric among its 17 tracks".
[56] Ryan Leas of Stereogum found that, aside from some highlights, "the crime of Unlimited Love, with all its weight within RHCP's narrative and all the excitement some might've felt, is that the bulk of the album is just completely unmemorable".
[64] All tracks are written by Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante and Chad SmithRed Hot Chili Peppers Additional musicians Production[65] Imagery