![]() There were no grand mission social statements on the level of Pearl Jam, but at the Bowl, Boyd wore a T-shirt reading “Make believe, not war” as the images of street protests, riot police, mushroom clouds and a winged Adolf Hitler flashed behind him during a stirring “Megalomaniac.”Įven within that single song, the band’s competing musical impulses formed an uneasy balance, seeming to drift amid static and effects only to explode with immediate clarity through the shouted hooks of Boyd: “You’re not Jesus / Yeah, you’re no. Lyrics of inner struggle outnumbered any on anger management, far less about sex than the hippie dream. ![]() Initially aligned with the ‘90s “new metal” movement, Incubus was always less rage-fueled than peace-loving. The new, two-disc best-of collection makes a strong enough case for the Incubus sound, gathering hits and rarities originally influenced by the heavy funk of Primus and Red Hot Chili Peppers. It’s helped them build an impressive number of radio hits (collected on the just-released “Monuments and Melodies”) but also has fallen curiously short elsewhere.Īt the band’s 100-minute hometown performance at the Hollywood Bowl on Monday, fans heard all of it: the soaring pop hooks, the churning guitar of Mike Einziger, the stuttering DJ effects, the weakness for plodding funk and the growing distance between the band’s best and least satisfying work. When the pieces come together, Incubus is explosive and inspired, matching the melodic gifts of singer Brandon Boyd with the focused riffs and beats of the band. Incubus is like that, a cosmic jam band ready for either an endless funk-metal groove or a sudden eruption of melody and forward momentum. ![]() Some rock bands are of two minds (or more), struggling with competing impulses and uneven results, sometimes loud, soft, inspired or not. ![]()
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