Incubus : Light Grenades (2006)
Brandon Sears
Running Time: 48 mins
Finally after almost a 3 year wait, Incubus return with their highly
anticipated 6th album, Light Grenades!
Incubus have finally hit their definitive sound. Each album they've
released over the years has had its own unique sound. "Fungus Amougus" was
like mashing the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus together and sending them
off to space camp while "S.C.I.E.N.C.E" (their 2nd effort) resembled them
attempting to harness a sound that seperated them from any other band
around, while playing with keyboards and taking more than a few psycodelic
drugs. With "Make Yourself" Incubus started leaning more towards more
accessable music with numbers like "Drive" and "I Miss You". I believe that
with the creation of "Morning View" Incubus had firmly established
themselves as a permenant staple of modern rock music. With the departure
of a long time bassist, Incubus found a new player and a whole new set of
influences stemming from hip-hop and all around urban music with the
induction of Ben Kenny.
Now, after that brief history lesson folks..lets talk about the task at
hand, "Light Grenades". Recently shooting to #1 (debuting) on the BillBoard
Charts, Incubus are now a rock superpower to say the least. Demonstrating
why they are one of my most "trusted" bands, Incubus have put together a
"stellar" (ha..ha) effort in LG and shoving it in the face of anyone that
has ever doubted them.
With 13 amazing tracks, Incubus have put together their 3rd straight
completley solid album. Songs like "Dig" and "Love Hurts" are bonafide
singles while other songs like "Diamonds and Coal" and "Oil and Water" show
some potential as well. Brandon's writing is another big part of what makes
this band so successful. Boyd can write songs that distinguish them so
easily from anyone else which makes them so interesting and addictive. I
also believe that this is Incubus' first attempting at breaking a song into
two parts with two renditions of "Earth to Bella" which end up being
perfectly crafted melodic classics which round the album completley. Not to
mention, guitarist Mike Einziger's first attempt at recording and producing
his own track with "Quicksand" which I think could have ended the album
rather than begin it. Considering that that is my only complaint than it
isn't that bad, now is it?
I highly reccomend this album. To fans of Incubus or anyone that quickly
wants to become one because I guarantee that this album will do that for
you.
Brandon Sears is an insurance salesman by day and a superhero by night (not really). He has been writing for Modern Distraction since 2004. He lives in Sydney Mines with his wife, Ashley and his dog Toby.