Listen to New Red Hot Chili Peppers + Washed Out

It's been five years since we have heard anything new from California's Red Hot Chili Peppers. However, their hiatus has come to an end, and on August 30, they will drop their 10th record I'm With You. The first single off said album is “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie,” a funky alternative number that features new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, John Frusciante's official replacement. After a few listens, I can hear the track's poppy appeal, but I don't feel completely satisfied. After five years, I was hoping for something that sounded a little more like their Californication days. Maybe it's because I'm still slightly confused/disturbed with their choice to include “Hump de Bump” on 2006's Stadium Arcadium. Yet, at the end of the day, cowbell makes everything better. More cowbell!

Red Hot Chili Peppers: "The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie"

In other news, I've been hearing such good things about chillwave solo act Washed Out. So I looked it up for myself and can confirm that all the positive acclaim is true. Since 2009, Georgia's Ernest Greene has been recording music in his self-created bedroom studio and recently teamed up with producer Ben Allen (the man behind Animal Collective's Merriweather Post Pavilion). The two crafted Washed Out's dreamy debut Within And Without which may very well be the sexiest record of the year. I'm loving “Amor Fati” and “You And I.” Listen below!

Washed Out: "You And I"


Washed Out: "Amor Fati"