Incubus Album: “Morning View”

Well, after some of the reviews I have read, I see that alot of people failo to notice the real musicality of this album compared to their previous efforts. Sure, Make Yourself (M.Y.) was their breakthrough album, which is good, but Morning View (M.V., for short) stands high above the rest. Although cheesy, I'll do a run down of the songs in a 0-5 basis.

1. Nice to Know You (4.9/5) This was the perfect opener, it shows that DJ Kilmore is more about sculling the water, not necessarily making splashes.

2. Circles (5/5) I love the guitar line.

3. I Wish You Were Here (4/5) Good song, too much airplay ruins this song for me. The same thing happened with Hash Pipe (Weezer). It's a great song, but with MTV and the radio networks, it gets overplayed, and when you hear it on the album, it isn't the same. Oh well.

4. Just A Phase (5/5) Finally, something experimental. The first 3 songs basicall followed the Incubus tried-n'-true method, which is good. Phase uses different elements that the previous albums haven't.

5. 11 A.M. (5/5) No explanation necesasary.

6. Blood on the Ground (6/5) This is byfar the best song on the album. Its upbeat, it displays all of their talents, especially Brandon's singing and songwriting abilities. I'm such a loser that I write the lyrics of this song on my text books when I get bored....

7. Mexico (5/5) Similar to Drive, but better, because once again, it displays Brandon's improvement of being a songwriter and a singer, not a screamer/yeller, like what happens in most rock bands nowadays. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but this album takes the road less traveled.

8.Warning! (4/5) This song is pretty cool, but it gets kind of annoying after awhile for me, and compared to the other songs, its not as high caliber as the other tracks...

9.Echo (5/5) This is close to pop, but I like it all the same. It's catchy!

10.Have You Ever? (4/5) Trying to get a little back to their roots, this song is pretty cool... I like the other "hard" songs on the album better.

11. Are You In? (5/5) The other poppish songs, I like this one too, it is relaxing, but not as much as others...

12. Under My Umbrella (5.5/6) This is my 3rd favorite track... It just sounds awesome. 'Nuf said.

13. Aqueous Transmission (7/5) Props to being original, and really pushing the envelope. This is one of my favorite songs on the album. The kyoto makes you want to fall asleep, and the string section adds the perfect touch. It's a beautiful thing.

When the smoke has cleared, if you respect yourself at all, you'll go buy this album...

I've been an Incubus fan for so long that I can't remember when I first listened to them... Fungous Amongus and Enjoy Incubus were great albums, when they were into their earlier funk and freestyle influences. S.C.I.E.N.C.E was the first full-length album that carved a niche for Incubus in the "alternative" mainstream, and was IMHO their best offering up until "Morning View."

This album is amazing in all sense of the word. Incubus has evolved throughout the years, and through this evolution, they have become become the future sound of rock. SCIENCE was my favorite album, up until today...

Here's the skinny on this album, track by track:

I hope that helps. This CD was one of the better investments I have made in recent memory... 5+ stars.... go get it now

I said go get it, what are you waiting for????

Frankly, I'm a little sick of everyone picking on this album just because it does not sound the same as their previous endeavors. How can a band be expected to produce the same record over and over again?

That said, this album is by far one of the best I own. Morning view is a blend of incredible lyrics, beautiful melodies, and overall intelligent music. A good balance between hard and soft exists on the CD. Circles, Blood on the Ground, Have you Ever, and Under my Umbrella are the hard songs on the album. They feature loud guitars and biting lyrics, and they manage to get their point across eloquently and without profanity. It's refreshing to hear a change from the limp-bizkit-rap-core-metal that seems to be invading today's music scene. Nice to Know You and Warning are a mix of hard and soft, and again, get straight to the point. Are you In is a funky song that completes the record's wide range of genres. The soft songs, such as Wish you were Here, Just a Phase, 11:00 AM, Echo, and Aqueous Transmission are not soft because Incubus is selling out, they are soft because the songs are not about angry things. It wouldn't make sense to write a hard-rock song about something that isn't, well, hard-rock. Just because the songs aren't as loud doesn't lessen their value. They are artistically and musically as sound and as beautiful as the rest of the songs on the album. Overall, I'm proud to say I own and love Incubus' Morning View, one of the strongest collections of music on the shelves today.

Buy this Album. Right now. Get up and buy it. It way to amazing to not be in your collection. Although they are getting softer... with more drive-like songs, and slower ballads, Incubus is changing for the better. Plus the harder one's are better now I think.

1) Nice to Know You- intended to be the first single until they found Wish You Were Here. It's pretty cool... one of the harder songs, proly next single I'm guessing. 9/10

2) Circles- I downloaded this song about a month before MV was released. I regret it. I'm reletivly bored of it now and it's one of the best songs on the CD. Pretty hard and really cool vocals and lyrics. 9/10

3) Wish You Were Here- single... ok song... lots of bass... 6/10

4) Just A Phase- one of my fav songs ever... starting out slow and peaceful... awesome lyrics... building to a fakeout climax... and then hitting you with the same build into an awesome peak. I love it. 10/10

5) 11am- if MV had a drive, this is it. Pretty cool. I like the guitar and Brandon's high pitched kinda spooky hum at the begining. Possible single i think. 8/10

6) Blood on the Ground- pretty angry song... another one the internet spoiled for me. But I still love it. 9/10

7) Mexico- acoustic feel. Showcases Brandon's voice. Chicks like this one alot... 7/10

8) Warning- lot's of Brandon again. I like the guitar in it though. Cool lyrics. 8/10

9) Echo- least fav on the CD... doesn't impress me, but not terrible. I haven't listened to it enough yet I guess. 5/10

10) Have You Ever- Harder than the previous 3. I DLed this one too. I'm most tired of this one, even though it's really cool. 8.5/10

11) Are You In?- very different. I like it more everytime i hear it. I really like Brandons vocals, the funky guitar and the backroudn noise. It's pretty good. 8.5/10

12) Under My Umbrella- Possibly my favorite song on the CD. I like my music harder, like this one... so it has an unfair advantage against Just a Phase... they are both awesome. I listen to this one over and over though, and don't get bored... maybe because I'm trying to figure out the lyrics. 10/10

13) Aquareous Transmission- experimental and 7 minutes long, but it doesn't suck like Magic Medicine did. Brandon does sing. I'm not rating it though...

Anyway...

I got interested in Incubus during their last album Make Yourself. When I heard they had a new album coming out, I was looking to more metal/funk head-banging goodness. I bought it. At first I didn't like it. After about a week, I realized that it was different but probably better than Make Yourself. Here's my review of all the tracks.

1. Nice to Know You. One of the best on the cd. 5/5

2. Circles. Reminiscent of MY. 5/5

3. Wish you Were Here. Radio friendly, good song though. 4/5

4. Just a Phase. Starts w/ a 2 minute instrumental and very powerful 5/5

5. 11 AM another powerful one 5/5

6. Blood on the Ground. Best on the cd. 6/5

7. Mexico. Gets a littel slow 3/5

8. Warning. Good song. Good Message. 4/5

9. Echo. Very touching. One of my favorites. 5/5

10. Have You Ever. Heavier song. Kinda mindless though. 3/5

11. Are You In? Extremely catchy and upbeat. Mr. Boyd shows us whjat he can do w/ his voice. 4/5

12. Under my Umbrella. One of the best. Heaviest on the album. One of my favorites. 5/5

13. Aqueous Transmission. Very different. The two minutes of cricket noises at the end are a bit mcuh though. Nevertheless, one of the songs that will make Incubus great.