- Record Label: Warner Records
- Release Date: Oct 14, 2022
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Oct 13, 2022A fine album by any standards, not least the Chili Peppers' own. [Oct 2022, p.70]
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Oct 13, 2022The band promised that they weren’t going to play it safe with this record, and it seems to have paid off.
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Oct 14, 2022Return of the Dream Canteen is a pretty faithful second helping of Red Hot Chili Peppers as they stand in 2022. ... It’s hard not to wonder what kind of splash the album could have made had it been pared down or if there was more time between the two releases. As it stands now, though, Return of the Dream Canteen still manages to add more than it takes away.
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Oct 14, 2022The whole fun of a new RHCP album is hearing the ways they grapple with their legacy and push the boundaries of their sound. In that sense, Dream Canteen offers just the right amount of old and new.
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Oct 13, 2022At 75 minutes is even longer than its predecessor, is essentially “Unlimited Love II.” it’s a bit of a stop-gap, but also a nice coda.
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Oct 14, 2022Return of the Dream Canteen is better overall than the previous effort. It might have a couple of higher sonic peaks, but suffers from similar flaws. Obviously, one hour-long album with the strongest tracks recorded in the past couple of years would have been enough for a stronger comeback.
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Oct 19, 2022While some of these songs can feel regressive or at least undercooked on their own, they’re reframed by the open-hearted sadness that takes over the album’s second half.
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Oct 14, 2022Mildly soulful, rarely unpalatable, the Chili Peppers keep delivering American fast-food for the ears, even as they enter their sixties.
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Oct 14, 2022Like its sibling Unlimited Love, Return of the Dream Canteen benefits from the positive energy of these four friends just having fun in the studio, and is designed for listeners to plug in and bliss out without any expectations of mainstream-ready fare.
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Oct 13, 2022This album is an almighty slog, one where the vibrant new is weighed down with a lot of the same old tricks. For all glimpses of bold musical and lyrical steps forward, they remain largely the same band they’ve always been with ‘Return Of The Dream Canteen’ offering an all-you-can-eat buffet that often feels overwhelming.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 43 out of 54
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Mixed: 5 out of 54
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Negative: 6 out of 54
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Oct 14, 2022Unlimited Love was just training, Dream Canteen is the real deal. Their best work since Stadium Arcadium.
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Oct 14, 2022Probably their best since Stadium Arcadium. They are clearly enjoying themselves this year and so am I.
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Oct 17, 2022