A BAND which has proven its worth through unique musical styling, Incubus, is back again with the 2004 release of A Crow Left of the Murder and the promise of more melodic instrumentals and captivating lyrics.
The first track off the album, “Megalomaniac”, sounds catchy enough to set the mood for the rest of the album which is light and faintly soothing throughout. The title track is gripping from start to finish and begins the transition into the more free-spirited nature of the other songs. One of the highlights of the collection is “Agora-phobia”, with its slightly maudlin lyrics, “Two people touching lips hands on each other’s hips nothing in this world but one another.” Another fun song, which almost makes want to sway your head from side to side, is “Talk Shows On Mute”, in contrast to “Beware! Criminal”, which is a little more linear, with lyrics like “You came, you saw, you conquered…everyone!” which isn’t at all pleasing. The album also presents several songs with instrumental interludes that exhibit the band’s musical artistry, though being lengthy at times, like in “Sick Sad Little World”, which is the longest track in the collection. A more upbeat and lyrically metaphoric song is “Pistola”: “My intention: a bullet! My body: a trigger finger!” “Zee Deveel” is perhaps inspired by the Greek Beelzebub (as seen in the lyric sheet) or the individual inner devil, thereby suggesting a deeper origin of the song. “Smile Lines” laments on why “High school never ends!” while the melancholic “Here In My Room” conveys a darker, more serious tone.
Incubus did not fail to maintain their “brainy”-band status through meaningful lyrics and implicit messages alluding mostly to notions apparent in literature, especially in tracks like “Talk Shows On Mute”, hinting at George Orwell’s “1984”, and “Zee Deveel”. Pre-”Crow” fans may observe that the band has been exploring mainstream terrain lately, perhaps owing to the lack of experimentation in this, and other recent, collections, thereby enticing fans even from the pop crowd. The success of this album was also amplified by the band’s ongoing tour in support of the Make Yourself Foundation, Incubus’ way to share their triumph to the less fortunate. It was quite a disappointment to see an unparalleled band like Incubus do something a little less extraordinary this time around, leading to the question of what the band’s idea of musical refinement truly is.
