Taking their sweet time to bounce back from the indifferent reception to their 2003 reunion
Strays,
Jane's Addiction reemerges eight years later with
The Great Escape Artist, an album that draws a direct connection to the group's murkier, dramatic moments. Part of this return to the mystic could be due to
TV on the Radio's
Dave Sitek manning bass for the majority of the album, but his artful spaciness is grounded by numerous songwriting collaborations with
Guns N' Roses Duff McKagan, thereby offering a tidy encapsulation of
Jane's Addiction's yin and yang: whenever they threaten to float too far off into space, they're pulled back to earth by a heavy dose of Sunset Strip sleaze. This tension had urgency in the '80s, now it’s delivered with finesse, enough so that the whole of
The Great Escape Artist appears to favor spaciness even when guitars are grinding out metallic grease. Frankly, the shift toward the ethereal is a welcome relief after the clean lines and bright L.A. sun of
Strays, an album that emphasized rock over art. Here, the preference is reversed and the group reaps some benefits, often touching upon the dark, boundless exotica of
Nothing's Shocking yet managing to avoid desperation; instead of re-creating sounds, they've recaptured the vibe, which is enough to keep
The Great Escape Artist absorbing even when it begins to drift. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine