Incubus - A Crow Left OfThe Murder

Tue 2nd Mar, 2004 in Music Reviews

This is a rock album in the purest form.  Yes there are guitars, bass and drums – and no foreign musical objects that some ‘rock’’ bands try to throw in for whatever purpose, be it experimental or stemming from sheer laziness. 

Incubus has been proud deliverers of rock for about 13 years now, although most fans will know them from their 2001 hit Drive.  If you remember and love Incubus for this song, prepare yourself for rockier tunes on their latest album.  The single from ‘A Crow Left Of The Murder’, ‘Megalomaniac’ is the opening track, beginning with a subtle array of sound, builds into a crescendo of guitars and pans out into the dulcet tones of Brandon Boyd’s vocals. This tune is a rollercoaster of dynamics.  The chorus is angst driven, both vocally and musically.  It’s catchy, it’s rock and I especially love the lyrics ‘You’re no Jesus. You’re no Elvis. You’re no answer.’

The album cruises along with easy to listen to, easy to sing-a-long to tunes with an excellent balance of mellow melodies which are complimented by gutsy guitar grinding riffs. The bass lines of Ben Kenney have an understated appeal. A fine layer under the guitar and vocal melody which, if you had to take the songs apart, could almost be another tune on its own.  Agoraphobia is a fine example of this.

I’ve listened to this CD several times now and come to the conclusion that it is a CD for most occasions.  It was great to drive to, to vacuum to and it was also therapeutic at the end of the day.  There are episodes of structured four minute rock/pop and also of ‘let’s just get into the studio and jam and see what we come up with.’  I enjoyed the fact that sometimes when you thought you knew what you were going to get, the listener gets thrown a musical curve ball. 

So the die-hard Incubus fans voted and raised their hands to praise track six, Sick Sad Little World as their favourite track off the album. I would not disagree with this, it’s a great well-rounded rock tune and it’s easy to imagine this being boomed out of the radio. I couldn’t vote for just one song, I would have to add Priceless (if only for the opening drum beats) and Smile Lines (I’m a sucker for an interesting bass line). At first listen, it’s a CD that I think I should listen to a few more times before making a judgement. By about the third listen I can see shades of Double Allergic – Powderfinger.  Not that there is anything wrong with that.  Also interesting to note is the CD artwork with strong shades of red and yellow, coupled with the messiness of the font of the lyrics.  The cover art is a good tool for making this CD stand out in the record shelf, on the other hand, my eyes got a bit cross eyed trying to read the lyrics.  For this reason, by about track 4, I start to make the lyrics up on my own.

It’s a good value CD and I’ll be interested to see how it transposes live in a few weeks time!