What stands out about Stadium Arcadium, the Chilis' ninth studio album, is the grandness of its vision. From the sheer number of tracks (28 over two CDs), the grandiose title and the cosmic themes of the cover art and CD volume sub-titles ("Jupiter" / "Mars") to - most importantly - the music itself, this feels truly epic. Kiedis told MTV News recently that "John Frusciante has really fallen in love with the art of treating sounds"; it shows - Stadium Arcadium sees the band toying with studio effects whilst broadening their sonic palette to include piano, trumpet, pot and pan percussion and even the occasional synth. It's not an experimental album per se, but evidence abounds that the quartet's inspiration is as strong as ever.

The format is one that fans will be familiar with - a combination of beautifully heartfelt, melodious slow numbers (like the sublime Hey and Slow Cheetah), out and out dirty funk (the fantastic Prince-meets-Bootsy romp of Hump De Bump and the slap-bass-tastic Tell Me Baby) and radio-friendly rockers like opener Dani California. It may follow a predictable pattern but this is anything but a complacent album - listen to tracks like the Led Zeppelin-esque Readymade or Storm In A Teacup, highlights from the second CD, and you'll find the band having a wail of a time producing some of the most colourful and captivating music of their career, packed with detail and movement.

Doubtless there will be many critics who suggest that the band should have condensed this double album into a standard length LP of highlights, but that's to deny them the space to let creativity breathe - creativity which ultimately makes this album their best since Blood Sugar Sex Magik.