Kind Heaven

Back when he was fronting alt-rock demigods Jane’s Addiction, Perry Farrell’s dreadlocks, tattoos, and nose ring couldn’t distract you from the fact that he possessed the soul of an old-school circus ringmaster. And for his first solo release in 18 years, Farrell has built himself the sideshow of his wildest fantasies, in both the musical and literal senses. Featuring an all-star guest list that includes Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins, Dhani Harrison, and The Cars’ Elliot Easton, *Kind Heaven* isn’t so much an album as a soundtrack preview of the interactive experience Farrell is launching in Las Vegas in 2020. Fittingly, listening to the album feels like wandering through discrete rooms with radically different decor but equally deviant delights: Where the joyful jangle of “(red, white, and blue) Cheerfulness” outfits *Kind Heaven* with its own Monkees-esque opening jingle, Farrell soon lures you into smoky jazz-bar (“Snakes Have Many Hips”) and sleazy EDM (“Spend the Body,” a libidinous duet with his wife Etty). But as much as *Kind Heaven* seeks to transport you to alternate realities, it doesn’t ignore the one we’re living in: The metallic groover “Pirate Punk Politician” and the string-swept spiritual “Let’s All Pray for This World” find Farrell responding to the times with rage and hope, respectively.

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