Canis

Deeply immersed in their Red Hot Chili Peppers worship, Jakarta funk rockers Canis’s debut record “Vulgaris” showcases a band whose musical talents too often feel bogged down by the lack of an original voice — or an attempt to find one.
Taking the majority of their sound from their hero’s later, more mass-appealing less smack-grooving era, Canis’s mix of pseudo funk dips deep into everything RHCP does: trebly guitars, no-nonsense drums, quasi-sentimental vocal inflections, AOR melodies, and some sweet, sweet slap bass for your perusal. By the time those mecha-whiteboy hip-hop lines about hurricanes and having sex with attractive ladies appear on “The ‘Great’ Buffalo Gigolo” — in between clashes on loopy wah-wah guitars, naturally — you’d be forgiven for thinking the band is having everybody on.
Still, those who can put their cynicism aside will perhaps enjoy the good-time atmosphere of “Vulgaris.” The immaculately dubbed “Bong, Bong, Bong” expands on its “You bring the fire, I bring the water” lyricism with huge bass riffing and bouncy percussion work, while the basketball courtside-ready “Off the Hook” melodic rock, replete with falsetto chorus and galloping drums, is ready-made for alt-rock radio. There’s even high-pitched doo-woop harmonies, right out of John Frusciante’s post-“Californication” playbook. Those lyrics, like the rest, also borrow liberally from Anthony Kiedis’s sexual innuendos and delivery.
By the time “Vulgaris” ends, it might be challenging for some listeners not to throw in the towel. What makes it bearable — perhaps even enjoyable for a select few — is in how undeterred the whole experience seems to be for the band members themselves. The takeaway from a bunch of guys unabashedly mimicking their idols is that there is absolutely no pretension here (unless this is some kind of high-brow ironic gag) and that is somehow refreshing in itself. (Jakarta Globe)