At one point, I mentioned some of the bands that influenced my interest in music; bands like Animal Collective, Neutral Milk Hotel, Grizzly Bear, and The Decemberists were chief among them. However, during my transition between strictly listening to metal and diversifying into a variety of other genres, I absolutely adored the music of Incubus. Seriously, I remember thinking this band was the pinnacle of modern rock music. They had everything, aggressive songs, soft ballads, and the lead singer Brandon Boyd was just, so cool. And I still to this day appreciate the talent this band showcased in their music. For example, the lead guitar player is very unique and has a lot of jazzy parts and compositions, and Brandon Boyd's singing ability is noteworthy, even if his lyrics are downright dreadful at some points.
So, why would I pick this band that I've obviously grown past for a full discography review? Well, there are two reasons; one, I just so happen to own all of their albums, and two, I wanted to see how well their music has held up in my eyes. So without further adieu, let's get started!
And yes, I am aware that S.C.I.E.N.C.E is not the first album released by Incubus, but in my opinion, Fungus Amongus was a demo and Enjoy Incubus! was an EP that consisted of the best material from the previous album with some decent additions on top. So that is why I've decided to start here, with the band's major label debut.
Much like the debuts of bands such as Radiohead, this album is certainly the black sheep of the band's discography. It has a really heavy rap/funk metal vibe and has a lot of weird lyrical concepts that are just a bit off color in comparison to their later work.
However, I actually think, despite some outdated sounds, that this album is actually pretty great. The songs are both concise, but still take interesting detours that would be pretty much stripped completely on the album that followed it, Make Yourself. Also, tracks like "Redefine" and "Idiot Box" showcase subject matters about not letting TV or other people tell you what to be; concepts that would later be honed on albums like, A Crow Left Of The Murder.
So, in a lot of ways, this album is the perfect start to the band's career because it shows them at their purest form, before they produced things to death or just got better at writing conceptual songs. That makes this album both better and worse than the band's later material, which only lends to its black sheep status.
Personally, this album holds up because it is so fun and has some legitimately awesome, spaced out funky jams, like "Glass" or the legendary "Summer Romance (Anti-Gravity Love Song)" a track that actually made me grin with nostalgia upon revisiting, and I would be lying if I said it wasn't currently in heavy rotation. Overall, this album is good. There are certainly some cringe-worthy lyrics, and the rap-metal side can be a bit overbearing, but I'd say it's still worth a visit, or a revisit.
Next time, I'll be looking at the band's big breakout LP, Make Yourself which was easily my least favorite back in the day, so stay tuned!
8.2/10
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