The Red Hot Chili Peppers are one of those legacy bands that occupy a rarefied sphere of the rock world. Their records sell no matter how good or bad they are, they can tour for whatever reason they feel like, and they can perform anywhere there’s electricity.

They’ve earned it. They’ve released some landmark popular rock releases and their earlier output was unique, fun, experimental, and really went against the hair metal and hard rock trends of the time. If only they’d kept up that experimental streak.

The band recently unveiled their first new track in five years, ‘Dark Necessities’, and suffice it to say it sounds like every other Red Hot Chili Peppers song released since Californication. Even the bass line sounds just like ‘Can’t Stop’.

After a slightly U2-sounding intro section, the song retreads familiar RHCP territory with a bouncy baseline (that, as we mentioned, sounds just like one of their other songs) and lyrics that talk about how difficult it is to be a drug addict.

The track will appear on the band’s new album, The Getaway, which is set to drop on 17th June, The follow-up to 2011’s I’m With You was produced by Danger Mouse and mixed by frequent Radiohead collaborator Nigel Godrich.

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