Folks, can we get one thing straight before I start this review?

INCUBUS IS NOT NU-METAL.

I don't know why, maybe some of their older albums touched upon that genre (I had assumed they were more like a combo of funk and hard rock myself), but it just doesn't seem like a fair label for a rock band who is clearly trying to think outside of the box. People who like the whole nu-metal style apply the term because Incubus sounds kind of hard on a few of their songs, which led to huge disappointment on the genre-hopping Morning View. People who hate the style seem to enjoy attaching the label to anything that has the audacity to use power chords every now and then. The fact is that if the groove-inflected Southern California band ever adhered to such a style, they've veered away from it now. They've mellowed on some of their material, and even on their "harder" songs, the sound is more upbeat and rambunctious than heavy and menacing.

Have we cleared that up? Good. Because I hate it when expectations get in the way.

Now, having said all that, I can understand why the band has its share of detractors. There's always the temptation for fans to cry "sellout" whenever a band changes its core style, especially when the new style generates more pop radio-friendly hits than the old style. I've taken part in this exercise myself on occasion. But sometimes one has to remember that a band might have more than one creative ace up its sleeve. When surveying the short list of Incubus's slower songs ("Stellar", "Drive", "Just a Phase", "Echo", "Aqueous Transmission"), I see more ingenuity than conformity. I hear intriguing guitar parts, tasty DJ effects, solid rhythmic work, and a vocalist who can go from a gentle croon to a frustrated shout without any of it sounding forced. I hear a lot of color, and that's what I enjoy about Incubus. As a matter of fact, I'd say that scaling back some of their heavier tendencies on a few songs did them a world of good. Listen to some of the more forced rockers on Make Yourself, and then compare and contrast with Morning View, which I'm not ashamed to admit might be my favorite mainstream rock album ever, and I think you'll see the difference. You don't have to like, the difference, but anyway, there it is.

For those of you who didn't like the difference, you'll probably want to approach their newest disc, A Crow Left of the Murder, with caution. While not as "colorful" in its diversity as Morning View, it's one of those albums that uses aggression as a tool to further the message of a few of its songs, and then puts the tool away when not needed. It can probably be viewed as a hybrid of Make Yourself and Morning View, taking back some of the remorseful lyrical themes of the latter and bringing back the (sometimes) righteous anger of the former. It's one of those albums that ventures out in directions that are perhaps expected for Incubus, just not at the expected times, if that makes any sense. You've got Brandon Boyd's sharp-tongued lyrics and sometimes unconventional melodies, Mike Einzinger's whacked-out and sometimes spazzed-out guitar parts, Jose Pasillas's alternately slamming and intricate percussion, the occasional interjection from DJ Kilmore, and...

Hey guys, where'd your bass player go? Hmm, there's one of the problems with this new album. It seems that Dirk Lance, who provided a good dose of low-end funk for the band up until last year, took off and was replaced by newcomer Ben Kenney. And not that Ben's bad, but it does feel like the carefree, party-like atmosphere of some of their past work is missing here. Even when this album relaxes, there's something that still seems strangely cynical and uptight about it, and that's probably my one criticism. Morning View let loose when it needed to. Nevertheless, A Crow Left of the Murder brings an interesting fusion of Incubus yesterday and today to the table, and the band sounds like they haven't come anywhere near losing their creative spark.

For the curious, this album's title refers to the fact that a group of crows is referred to as a "murder", much like a "school" of fish or whatever, though the word "murder" is likely meant as a double entendre. Yeah, this is a literate band we're dealing with here, and honestly, you don't find that as much among popular bands in the mainstream. At times they almost seem a little too clever - but that's probably a simple matter of growing pains, and not a major distraction from the album.

Still interested in taking this CD for a spin? Then buckle up - it's gonna be a bit of a bumpy ride.

Megalomaniac
It's unkind, but if I met you in a scissor fight
I'd cut off both your wings on principle alone...
Pop this CD in and you might be startled by what sounds like a jet plane taking off. That's the best I can do to describe the wash of noise that eventually gives way to a light, droning guitar riff, which in turn plunges headlong into one of the heavier guitar refrains on the album. An obvious choice for the first single, this song serves as a bridge inviting the fans who lost interest after Make Yourself to get back on board. It's a biting piece of social commentary, taking an unnamed, self-important celebrity/politician/fill-in-the-blank and putting him in his place. I had a bit of trouble with the song at first since the main hook contained the incisive line "Megalomaniac, you're no Jesus, yeah, you're no f*cking Elvis." One of my favorite things about Morning View was that it made its point without profanity, so hearing it in the chorus of the first single here is frustrating, but to be fair, I realize that the use of "Jesus" and "f*ck" in the same breath isn't meant as a shocking thing - it's just an expression of frustration with a person who think he's important as either of those figures were. In any event, they've managed to get it stuck in my head, and the message of the song is a very good one - that no one person in the world has been imparted all of the knowledge that there is to know, thus giving them the right to boss everyone else around. The whispers of "Step down, step down" during the bridge are positively chilling against the backdrop of today's political climate, and the music video uses that to its advantage with it apocalyptic, cut-and-paste animation of what looks like it could've been a scene in the movie Dogma. But the best part about this song is probably the fact that the youth of America just learned a new word.

A Crow Left of the Murder
From here on, it's instinctual
Even straight roads meander...
This odd title track grabs the attention immediately, with an adept, nifty little riff from Mike Einzinger that repeats throughout much of the song. (My first exposure to the song was actually a video of an acoustic version, which was positively drool-inducing as I watched his fingers glide across those strings.) Unusually, Brandon's lyrics are extremely minimal during the verses, eschewing his hip-hop inflected speak-singing in favor of holding one syllable per measure and letting the guitar fill in the blanks. It's nice to see that Incubus can flip around their old approach instead of relying on a single trick over and over to woo their audience. Brandon turns around and spits out the chorus rather frantically once he gets there, but for the most part he seems quite happy to let this song stand out as an odd little number that rocks nonetheless. Lyrically it's a tough one to penetrate, though I'm sure there's some sort of a message about individuality or resisting the flow of culture lurking underneath there somewhere. I love the ending, when he's shouting "Do you get it yet?" over and over, though I can't say that I do.

Agoraphobia
"What can I do", you say, it's just another day
In the life of apes with ego trips...
Incubus seems to have this recent habit of experimenting with off-key melodies (see "Under My Umbrella"), and that experiment might try the listener's patience during the beginning of this ominous little song, when it seems like Brandon is singing purposefully off-key over a mid-tempo, bass-driven rhythm. This is actually an interesting way of communicating the fear of going outside, which is the meaning of the song's title. Incubus's two favorite topics seem to collide here - the idea of society intimidating people into "staying inside", and some vaguely sensual, relationship-themed lyrics. I'm guessing it makes sense in a way that is very personal to Brandon, but the song doesn't seem to flow so well with its surroundings, especially at the ending, when Brandon is mumbling "For good, for good, for good" over and over. He actually inserts something else in between all of those "for good"s, but I can't tell if he's saying "forgot", "for God", or "f*ck off". I'm hoping it's not the latter, but in any case, it's kind of random and mildly contrived.

Talk Shows on Mute
Pay an audience to care, impress me personality...
The first "ballad" on the project is actually pretty straightforward musically. Aside from a few DJ bleeps and bloops, it's a pretty laid-back tune, but that doesn't stop it from being ironic. It seems to be about more than just talk shows, since the title of the song isn't even alluded to until near the end, though having that as the title gives a humorous mental picture of watching people make fools out of themselves on TV. Brandon sounds like he's been reading some classic science fiction when he makes references to "1984" and something about how "electric sheep are dreaming up your fate". (Electric sheep?! Only a complete Dick would come up with a line like that!) Once again, Incubus is a literate band, and part of the reason I'm not totally getting this song is because I'm not as literate as they are. But one line I definitely get, that always amuses me, comes at the end of the chorus: "Lights, camera, transaction." One thing I always enjoy about a band is quotability.

Beware! Criminal
We do the same thing every night
I swear I've heard this song before...
For some reason, this was one of those songs that my brain skipped over the first few times I listened to the album, and I'm regretting that now, because it's got a strong groove and a little bit of the Eastern-inflected guitar work during the verses that Einzinger has toyed with on the past few albums. I'm starting to get a bitter vibe from Brandon as I listen to this song - I think the criminal he's referring to is a girl who lied to him. The bitterness doesn't stop him from crooning through much of the song, even slipping into a lovely falsetto at one point. And yet you've got your crunchier guitars driving the chorus, and then somewhere near the end of the song it mysteriously backs off into acoustic mode for a matter of seconds and then changes its mind and starts to rock again. It's an interesting exercise in song schizophrenia, ending abruptly as the next song is counted off without missing a beat.

Sick Sad Little World
No you're not the first to fall apart
But always the first one to complain...
Early reports on the album indicated that Incubus had been doing a fair amount of jamming and just having a good time while working on this album (with one of the tracks they recorded extending to like 22 minutes), and I guess this would be part of the fruit of that labor. It's a fairly upbeat song, but it still stretches out to six minutes, ranging from jittery verses during which the electric guitar is strummed rather quickly to a fun, spacey solo in the middle of the song, which proves to be one of the few moments where the band lets loose and has a good time. And yet it all contributes to the song's feeling of detachment, of wanting to be left alone with their little escapist jam session. "Leave me be here in my stark raving, sick, sad little world." That about sums it up.

Pistola
My secret arsenal is an infinite ageless ink well
It's a fountain of youth and a patriot's weapon of choice...
DJ Kilmore finally gets to shine during this song's intro, though he does it by unleashing another flurry of cacophonous noise that eventually congeals into a squealing loop over which Einzinger lays down a cool riff. This song can easily be summed up in the old adage, "The pen is mightier than the sword" - Brandon's version comes out during a boisterous, almost punk-influenced chorus, "Yeah, my pen is a pistola, whoo-oo!" There's almost a madness to the way he sings that line, indicating the pleasure he derives from sidestepping physical violence and assaulting his enemy with the written word. This might be one of the most entertaining tracks on the album, since the chorus often gets stuck in my head for hours, and the song is a veritable wall of noise, especially the dissonant breakdown in the middle. It's bound to be a concert favorite.

Southern Girl
If you're looking for an open book
Look no further, I am yours...
A bit of a lull comes here in the form of a lovestruck ballad in between two edgier songs. It's got a certain ambience that works for it as Mike scales back his guitar playing to gentle stroking and some layered background vocals creep in. The problem is that I'm not really drawn to Brandon's attempt to woo his young Southern Belle, even if some of his lyrics are charming as the words of devotion found in "Echo" on the last album - "You're an exception to the rule, you're of an unthought rarity". These words are offset by sexual innuendos like "We'll behave like animals" and "We'll try each other on to see if we fit" that kind of turn me off. Not that sex is always bad in a song, but when propositioning someone you hardly know, it comes off as a bit insincere. I like the unexpected key changes at the end of the song, though, where the repeated line "Southern girl, could you want me?" seems to bend up and down between two keys as it repeats.

Priceless
The anti equilibrium, your stomach becomes the floor...
Remember how startling "Have You Ever" was coming after "Echo" on the last CD? This is kind of like that, perhaps turning up the intensity level another notch as Jose Pasillas and DJ Kilmore double-team to provide a slamming beat that's guaranteed to have some people gasping for breath on the dance floor. The song is definitely more about rhythm than melody, with most of the lyrics being either spoken or shouted. Darned if I know what Brandon is saying throughout most of it, but his refrain comes out loud and clear - "The look on your face was priceless!" Once again, the band seems to be in a taunting mood, and it's working quite well for them on this album. This is definitely one of the more bizarre pieces on the record, running its course at breakneck speed, abruptly switching from 4/4 to 5/4 at a few points just to confuse the listener (for the non-musically inclined, the themes from both Halloween and Mission Impossible are in 5/4), and zipping through a weird bridge section where the DJ sounds and the guitar engage in some fascinating interplay with each other. Definitely a must-hear even if it'll never be a single.

Zee Deveel
Nice watch, man, you got the time?
There's never enough and it always goes too slow...
A lot of the tracks on this album seem to be vying for the role of "odd man out", which is fine with me because it makes for interesting listening. This one stands out due to its jagged, bouncy, 3/4 rhythm and Brandon's vocals, which romp all over the place, making the song an insane slice of enjoyable listening. Everything from the way they spelled the title (I think it's supposed to be "The Devil") to the way Brandon elongates some of his words into trembling and shrieking and so forth. At the center of it all there seems to be a pretty clear warning (like the one in, say, "Warning") that "You should be careful what you wish for, 'cause every one of us has a devil inside." Hmm, maybe these guys should go have lunch which Dave Matthews and discuss that concept for a while.

Made for TV Movie
It fell like a tear from my eye
Flying machines so up high
Well, there goes the neighborhood...
Hey look, it's another ballad about TV. I don't know, as much as I'm OK with Incubus slowing down from time to time, I will admit not being as captivated by as many of this album's slower tunes. This one has a darker, more ironic tone to it, and Brandon opens the song by describing a voice from on high that tells him "Quit blowing each other up". The song is kind of a witty rumination on the state of the world, looking upon war and suffering with disbelief as if the state of affairs were straight from, well, a made for TV movie. Through it all, Brandon is trying to find "focus" and convince himself that what's happening is actually real. The song seems to drag a bit, but I do enjoy the lyrics.

Smile Lines
Spiders in my dreams
Synchronicity weaves like a web
When you were meant to be a meal...
This upbeat, melodic song is proof that Incubus doesn't take themselves too seriously - Brandon is ruminating about his own immaturity, still pining away over a crush like he's in high school, and at the same time, realizing that he's one of those guys who's "been around for a while". Maybe he's a little jealous of the younger guys who get all the attention now that he and his band are probably pushing 30, and maybe this person he wants so bad isn't a girl after all, but a fickle audience who always chases after The Next Big Thing. It's kind of funny to hear hitting some sweet high notes as if he were in a boy band or something, but the thing is, it works for him and it doesn't sound contrived. (Exploring falsetto worked wonders for U2, after all.) One of the things that amuses me greatly about Crow is how several of the songs have false endings, and this one is no exception, boasting two separate points where you think the music's going to end, and the drums kick in again and the band is hurtling forward towards the finish line.

Here in My Room
If only the lights would dim a little
I'm weary of eyes upon my scars...
I can't listen to this song without getting images of a ballroom dance in my head. There's something about the piano and the grandiose feel of the song that makes it swirl around in my head, as if I've stepped into an imaginary masquerade party. The song is basically another proposition to a mysterious girl, though the romantic sound of this one is a little more believable, and the lyrics very flattering to their subject: "You enter in full-blown Technicolor". Love that line! There are still a few missteps, most notably the first line of the chorus, which makes a reference to old-school dc Talk without realizing it: "Your love is a verb here in my room." But it's still got great ambience and it manages to pull off a balancing act of being recognizable as an Incubus song while moving into territory the band hasn't ventured into before.

Leech
It isn't fair to mention, but it awes the crowd
Your fictional, plastic alibi...
The final song on the album (that's a whopping 14, ladies and gentlemen) has a defiant tone to it, which reminds me a lot of the protesting attitude of "Out from Under", which ended off Make Yourself. The fact that the song is indicting someone who basically sucked Brandon dry without giving much of anything back is a given from the title - unfortunately this give him an excuse to spit out some of his more foul lines - "So f*ck yourself and f*ck this bleeding heart of mine." That, and a few lines such as "I'm kicking myself that I shared spit with you" make the song sound uncomfortably juvenile, but the song still has a catchy refrain that makes for a smart way to end off the album - "The ride's over, did you enjoy yourself?" It's not the greatest note for them to go out on, and having it end in a harmless fadeout seems a bit cliché, but then, I guess I can't expect every Incubus album to end with something as tranquil and euphoric as "Aqueous Transmission", now can I?

I guess I've given you a take on this album from the eyes of an unorthodox Incubus fan - I got in pretty late in the game and I have little knowledge of what they were like in their early days. Suffice to say, I don't see them reverting back any time soon - they're getting good at sounding like no one else out there and yet not being weird just for weirdness' sake. Morning View took a while to grow on me, and I'm guessing this one will grow more in due time, so despite my disappointment with a lot of the slower material, and my standard objection regarding some isolated lyrics, I'm going to go with a definite recommendation for this one. The rest of the flock might prefer to make the same old albums over and over again, but if there's any justice in the world, this lone crow will have the rest of those blackbirds eating their humble pie in due time. (Ouch - that's got to be one of the lamest and most contrived puns I've ever ended a review with!)

ALBUM WORTH:
Megalomaniac $1.50
A Crow Left of the Murder $1.50
Agoraphobia $0
Talk Show on Mute $1
Beware! Criminal $1.50
Sick Sad Little World $2
Pistola $2
Southern Girl $0
Priceless $2
Zee Deveel $1.50
Made for TV Movie $.50
Smile Lines $1.50
Here in My Room $.50
Leech $0
TOTAL: $15.50

CONCLUSION: Pretty solid, aside from one or two potholes. Worth buying at near full price.

Band Members:
Brandon Boyd: Lead vocals, percussion
Mike Einzinger: Guitars
DJ Kilmore: Turntables
Ben Kenney: Bass
Jose Pasillas II: Drums

Website: http://www.enjoyincubus.com

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Driving