Search - Incubus :: S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

How many albums begin with the lyric "Imagine your brain as

William Dorfer | 10/31/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Although I normally start with a band's earlier stuff when getting into a new musical artist, I, like many other people, got itno Incubus with their "Morning View" album some odd years ago. There was some great stuff on that album and I still love it to this day, but "S.C.I.E.N.C.E." has for me what I fantasize about as a music lover and as a musician.

S.C.I.E.N.C.E. presents Incubus in a heavier, jazzier, more experimental stage of their history. Before they made it big, they made it bizarre. Before making the Top 40 rise with their songs, they made eyebrows rise with their unusual songs.

When it gets right down to it, S.C.I.E.N.C.E. is a true masterpiece in its own way. It's got basically everything a whacked-out album could have: weird guitar chords, funky basslines, versatile and exciting drums, great and unique vocals, strange musical sounds, and overall awesome talent.

Incubus prove they can hold their ground with all these elements. For example "A Certain Shade of Green" combines hardcore guitar riffs with odd, melodic soloing. "Redefine" and "Vitamin" are also hard-rockers but with a strong funk element and great basslines. "Magic Medicine" also showcases some cool drumming, sound effects and odd phrases that occasionally repeat. Then there's a personal favorite, "Nebula", which combines super-heavy riffs with beautiful, surreal melody, vocals and feel.

On the other side, we get some great jazz fusion going on, from the sexy, romantic "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)" to the happy, mellow hum-a-long "Deep Inside", which ironically also contains some great, metal riffs. And Mike's guitar work, along with the rest of the band's talent, shines all the way through.

So throughout the entire album, Incubus is able to combine funk, metal, jazz fusion, progressive and alternative styles into a truly unique and one-of-a-kind work of art. Lots of great experimentation, songwriting, and fun, and this album definitely gets five stars. I kinda wish Incubus was still making music like this, but it's still fun to blast "Anna Molly" on my iPod every now and then!

So if you already know some of Incubus's more, shall we say, mainstream, work, but you want to know what they'd sound like in their early days, give this a spin! It's an album I can't get enough of, and for sure one of my "desert island albums". Happy rockin'! Thanks for the time, and peace."