It’s like they were never away. “The Adventures of Rain Dance Maggie,” the first single from the Red Hot Chili Peppers in four years, is a funky, propulsive slab that is instantly recognizable from Anthony Kiedis’s first line.

The lyrics are typical RHCP:  more dependent on matching the flow and beats of the music rather than creating any real narrative. For example:  “Tick-tock, I want to rock you like the ‘80s/cock-blocking isn’t allowed” or “Rain Dance Maggie advances to the final/who know that she had the goods/ little did I know her body was one delicious vinyl.”

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The song is going straight to the top of the alternative and rock charts, though it needs more cowbell. What song doesn’t?  Seriously, nice use of the bell, especially at the end of the first verse and the tail of the song.  The “Hey Now” and George Harrison-sounding guitar riff in the chorus help make it very poppy and memorable. (They've traded the "Hey Oh," from "Snow (Hey Oh)"  for "Hey Now" apparently.)

The tune is the first single from “I’m With You,” the band’s new studio album out Aug. 30. The Rick Rubin-produced set is the first  to feature new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. He replaces John Frusciante, who left for the second, and presumably last time, following the end of the tour to support the last studio album, 2006’s “Stadium Arcadium.”  What do you think of Klinghoffer’s playing? He gets plenty of chances to show off his slithery stuff here, but we like his playing during the choruses the best.