John Frusciante The Empyrean 2LP

The Empyrean is the eighth solo album by John Frusciante, released worldwide on January 20, 2009 through Record Collection. Although John Frusciante is best known as the former guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, he also has an active solo career, having released 11 albums under his own name. His solo recordings include elements ranging from experimental rock and ambient music to New Wave and Electronica.

Frusciante asserts that the record "was recorded on and off between December 2006 and March 2008," and is a concept album that tells "a single story both musically and lyrically." The album features collaborations with the Chili Peppers' Josh Klinghoffer and Flea, and former The Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr. Also included is a cover of Tim Buckley's "Song to the Siren."

His singing is actually pretty remarkable considering his initial forays into vocals. He sounds confident and assured, even as the subject matter wrestles with dark thoughts and doubt. The songs tend to be fairly spare with guitar, electric piano, bass and drums with strings adding some lushness towards the end. Frusciante also uses the studio as an instrument à la Eno, adding cool treatments to nearly every song... Frusciante has done a nice job of carving an identity completely separate from his main gig, and Empyrean fits nicely with his other solo albums.