Incubus means a lot to many people who mean a lot to me. This was a special album to get under the belt early in the year.
The album kicks off with an absolute howitzer in “Megalomaniac”, which still stands as one of the best album openers in rock history. This is Incubus at their best. Notable throughout the album is the interplay between Mike Einziger’s minor-key laden lead guitar riffs juxtaposed against Brandon Boyd’s soaring vocals. Einziger has always been one of the most interesting lead guitarists in rock, alternating between dissonant groovy picked guitar licks that are violently interrupted with explosive waves of overdriven guitars. There are so many standout moments from him on this album, with the shifty snakelike intro to “A Crow Left of the Murderer” and the fuzzy nearly metallic solo on “Sick Sad Little World” being a few specific standouts.
Boyd is similarly on point during the whole album. When this man hits his soaring falsetto there’s not much better, and his lyrical approach of providing hyper specific examples of subject matter shrouded in ambiguity feels meaningful when he delivers it. Underneath it all Ben Kenney (bass), Chris Kilmore (turntables), and Jose Pasillas (drums) provide a canvass that pulses and oozes, setting the stage for Einzinger and Boyd to bring everything to life.
A great rock album, and right there with Make Yourself as Incubus’ magnum opus.
Standout Songs: “Megalomaniac”, “Agoraphobia”, “Southern Girl”
