Incubus "Light Grenades"

Incubus "Light Grenades" (2006)

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Label: Epic/Immortal
Produced by: Brendan O'Brien
Tracks: 13 (check: Amazon)

ahh its been a while since i last heard quality songwriting from this over-compressed post-00s modern rock genre. debuted at #1 on the billboard chart at release, "light grenades" sold 192 000 units. when justin timberlake released his "futuresex/lovesounds" album, it too entered at #1 on the same US chart, but he sold 711 000 units. really, the music industry is a fucked up one, from a marketing point of view. either that or incubus should've gotten timbaland to produce instead of brendan o'brien. oh yes, i am being sarcastic.

i quite enjoy brendan o'brien's production. he sounds like a nu-metal band's dream come true. except all that expired after the release of "crow left of the murder". he certainly has a sound style of his own (i dont care the way he works, or if he's a miracle worker - those things dont show on cd), BUT if u get a producer to produce the same band for the second consecutive time within the time span of 5 years, you're bound to get "crow left of the murder part 2". it sounds to me like 98.5% out of the 192 000 people who went out to buy this incubus record on its first week of release are a fleet of 20 and 30somethings who are already incubus fans circa "morning view" and prior. and to have *that* 'security blanket' for a band might not be the best plan for any major label who would want maximum music industry impact through one cd.

einzinger did say in an interview that the album sounds like 13 different bands playing 13 different songs. he must be kiddin. i hope he is. they might dress up differently, or be high on different social drugs when they were recording different tracks on this album - BUT the tracks don't sound different from each other - well nothing you'd unexpect from post-morning view incubus anyway. to top that up, they sound like they're from the same writing/recording session as "crow left of the murder", albeit a few more drum filterings, layered vocal harmonies and a few einzinger's attempt at making the guitar not sound like a guitar - nothing out of the ordinary.

a really different incubus would be: einzinger on a midi guitar, jose on the roland td-20 and possibly on the occasional akai mpc, brandon referencing anything but nature and planets in his songwriting, the bassist playing double-bass and dj kilmore sacked. it would sound horrible, i'm sure. but it seems like the only other way to get rid of this current brendan o'brien sound.

though, whatever this current direction is caused by, as a live-incubus fan, these materials will definitely work on stage. anyone who has been to an incubus concert will know that most of their more melodic, atmospheric numbers rarely work, live. the rockin brandon-screaming-on-top-of-his-lungs ones, however, do. anyone who has been to an incubus concert will also know that the mosh pit *always* rock harder than the band members. "certain shade of green" and "pardon me" will ALWAYS be expected in that sweaty and body-crushing space that is the area in front of the stage. ahhh yes, i could almost hear my poor eardrums pop at 150db. good memories last forever.

this is not one of incubus classics. "crow left of the murder" was incubus' attempt at making themselves sound different (and they did) and now it is apparent to us that when incubus *tries* to be *different* for the second time, you get 2 similar products.

get brendan o'brien and his fancy home studio out of the way and work with trent reznor or something. that said, if anyone needs me, i will be in that mosh pit at the next incubus concert.