Incubus need to incubate for a little longer. (A Crow Left Of The Murder - Incubus)

Member Name: paulhanton

Product:	A Crow Left Of The Murder - Incubus
Date:	10/06/08 (204 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some great strong tracks, interesting use of music.

Disadvantages: Some very 'sameish' tracks.

I have always found Incubus a slightly strange band, but compelling to listen to. That they are experimental is no lie, that they are brilliant musically is also true, that they never get much limelight in the mainstream is equally accurate. They are quite different, though best described as 'Nu metal'.

Track1. Megalamaniac.
"You're no Jesus, you're no F***ing Elvis"
A song about a celeb/star that gets everywhere. Raunchy guitar and drums, great vocals, loveley 'trancy' backtrack to the rock foreground. Great opener. 8/10.

Track 2. A crow left of the murder.
Starts very Nirvanish to me, in that there is a great sense of musical competency and urgency, and I can't cleary hear all the lyrics, or understand them. Nice sound to it nonetheless. 6/10.

Track 3. Agoraphobia.
Much slower than the first two tracks. Still a heavy guitar and drum backing. Again, very Nirvanish. "I wanna stay inside, I wanna stay inside for good" Not exactly unexpected lyrics for the titel! Seriouskly though I like this track it is haunting, catchy and angsty. 8/10.

Track 4. Talk shows on mute.
Quite a clever song lyrically and the music conveys the story well, very good. I am reminded a bit of REM with this song, there is a really nice repetetive 4 base line which kinda getes into the head. 8/10.

Track 5. Beware! criminal.
very angsty, bit self indulgent, lyrics reminiscent of 'Butterfly collector' by the Jam. Song does build well into a quite tortured crescendo. Again, I could be listening to Nirvana. 6/10.

Track 6. Sick, sad, little world.
Oh please Emo heaven, it really could not be more manufactured in it's lyrics, message and meaning. 2/10.

Track 7. Pistola.
Nice freaky start, lots of experimental sounds, really like the intro, builds well, solo guitar, joined by drums, then nicely balanced vocals. Quite a political song that 'bursts' into life with a great headbanging rock beat. Brilliant. 9/10.

Track 8. Southern girl.
Really interesting story told by song. I like this, music is complementary to the song (for a change). 8/10.

Track 9. Priceless.
What the F**k, rubbish, trying to hard, almost like rap metal, but does not work for me, and the lyrics "eel infested oceans", please!! 1/10.

Track 10. Zee Deveel.
Nice opening few bars, this is what Incubus do best in my opinion, bring you in with a hook that is different and works. Oh dear, it does not get any better than the intro, very pretentious. 2/10.

Track 11. Made for TV movie.
Oh dear, is this a Nirvana album? bit more trancy than the last few tracks, not great but okay. 5/10.

Track 12. Suite lines.
Another great intro, drums getting faster, guitar enters, we just know that this is going to be a good track, and it is. Angsty again, but much more of a punch to it, it rolls along nicely. I could listen to this several times. Good. 7/10.

Track 13. Here in my room.
Great track, very trancy and hallucinogenic in feel and words, a kind of mix of Nirvana, late Beatles, Evanescence and yet individual...new genre; Emo psychadelia. 9/10 best track on the album.

Track 14. Leech.
Another strong track to finish. Good use of vocals here. Strong lyrics, match up with the music, nice. 8/10.

There is a fair amount of swearing in many of the songs which does not bother me, but it might some. Incubus are a good band, but I get the feeling with this CD that I have heard much of it before, mainly from Nirvana. On other albums they are a lot more experimental and different and this is where there strength lies. This is not their best work but does have a few strong tracks. The CD artwork is great by the way, nice big red drawn rose with black petals, both on the cover and on the CD itself.

Summary: A crow left of the murder.