Nary a week after Flea decreed that rock music is dead (and Anthony Kiedis’s debilitating shits), he finds himself slappin de bass in a brand new Red Hot Chili Peppers song, “The Getaway.” Not sure if Flea is exempting his own band from his claim since the Chili Peppers were also a punk-funk band with sometimes-not-so-great hip-hop attempts, but the Chili Peppers’ new track definitely sees the group treading over similar territory from their previous work, providing funky grooves, nonsensical lyrics, and Frusciante-esque guitar licks from their new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.

While personally I would prefer an album of Donny from The Wild Thornberrys scatting over sick bass riffs (so basically just a Flea solo album?), the first two tracks off The Red Hot Chili Pepper’s forthcoming The Getaway are at least a little bit groovy. “Dark Necessities”is more of a brooding funk ballad (not sure if that makes sense!) that starts off with a threatening John Carpenter-esque piano refrain. But, “The Getaway,” the title track off aligns more with the crossover stadium rock of their best-known records. Although there is nothing shiny and new to really fall in love with here, I do really like the female backing vocals that peek out of the chorus. That’s a nice little twist to shake up the Chili Peppers’ pretty cemented formula, and breathes new life into a fairly straightforward song from the group.

Perhaps there will be more intriguing elements like this throughout the new record to inspire longtime fans of the band, but we will have to wait and see.

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Matt Grosinger is the music editor of Nerdist and thinks By the Way is a good album!