CD CHOICE:I'm With You Warner Bros ****

It’s never the best idea to leave more than five years between albums. The Stone Roses never recovered from their extended studio break and imploded soon afterwards. Numerous other bands have learned the hard way that rock waits for no man.

After the global success of 2006's Stadium Arcadium– that rarest of beasts: a double album with no filler – the Chili Peppers extended their sabbatical, with bassist Flea going off to work with Thom Yorke and Damon Albarn, drummer Chad Smith forming a metal supergroup and singer Anthony Kiedis turning his very readable autobiography into an upcoming HBO series. Guitarist John Frusciante trumped them all by leaving the band entirely.

The first listen to I'm With You(lousy title, by the way) seemingly reveals a band who badly miss their guitarist. Frusciante's great skill was in persuading the band to keep their foot off the funk button and pull their rock leanings more into focus. Certainly on a number of tracks here, most notably Ethiopia, his presence is missed as songs threaten a lot but end up reversing into a cul-de-sac.

At 14 tracks, this album is three songs too long. But the other 11 tracks show a band who are tentatively exploring new soundscapes while keeping a firm hold on their core values. The opener, Monarchy of Roses(which should have kept its original title, Disco Sabbath), is taut and concentrated; the rap-inflected second track, Factory of Faith, is being touted as the next single.

Where they really excel here is on songs such as Brendan's Death Song, about their late co-biographer, Brendan Mullen. There's a weird Irish trad feel to it, which is a first for them. Even You Brutus?is another musical departure, while Police Stationis a very well-executed celebrity-headbanger affair. There's a hint of highlife (probably something Flea picked up from Damon Albarn) to the propulsive Did I Let You Know, while Meet Me at the Cornerwill sound great in enormodomes.

Not as commercially viable as their previous albums, this is a transition album for the band that bodes very well indeed for future releases.

And if it's not too late they should seriously consider ditching the title of this and replacing it with the magnificent Disco Sabbath. See redhotchilipeppers.com

Download tracks: Monarchy of Roses, Did I Let You Know, Police Station, Even You Brutus?