Make Yourself (Special Tour Edition) - Incubus (Metal) > Reviews > Incubus

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Quick, powerful, simple good quality
Disadvantages:	Lyrics maybe clumsy at times

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

“Make Yourself” is the third full length album from a rather great little band called Incubus. Their style is soulful funk-rock with a hint of metal and scratching. Ranging from the trippy uplifting “drive” to the funk soaked mastery of Chris Kilmore with the scratched acoustic “Battlestar Scralatchtica”. They persist in being different but never cease to sound “cool” in a market place that eats mediocre conformity to a triple platinum. By some they’ve been slated simply for slowing down occasionally and adding thought, and god forbid sentiment to their songs in a metal genre. At times this does seem almost founded, “I miss You” is a shock in it’s quiet tenderness. But it works. The melodies are great, the emotion seemingly real and raw, in short a great song.

Anyway here’s the standard track by track run through which I’m sure you’ll want to see. If you don’t just skip it and give me very helpful, that way we all win, enjoy.

Privilege – Starts with great guitar and drumming building up into a fairly heavy, brilliantly loud intensity with great use of panning and the expected contradicting lyrics of many a rock band that works so, so well. It’s a metal song, so put it up loud it’s the way it’s born to be.

Nowhere Fast – Mainly slow mellowed out funkiness with reggae style rolling lyrics and drugged up ponderings. Intervened with hard guitar and heavy insanity framing the thought process and truly great singing within. Lots of great variety of speed and style reaches near perfection in a song.

Consequence – First of the killer tracks, starts with a near minute of fairly quite but truly blindingly brilliant lyrics, made great because Boyd can pull them off “stranger then a gang of drunken mimes” could sound so bad if not guided so skilfully by this man. Gets steadily louder as we journey on through, getting more uplifted by the second.

The Warmth – My favourite track, first heard on Napster (God rest it’s soul) brought me to Incubus for the first time. Starting as uniquely as they come with whale / dolphin song, it drifts beautifully along for a minute before finding the most exceptional lyrics known to man. Inherently up lifting funkiness with guitar work to die for, something’s there for everyone, you have got to love this song. An amazing track of pure beauty, masterful performance worth all you can pay for it. Outstanding.

When It Comes – Starts with quiet crazyness builds up to repeating lyrics getting louder as we go on. Very good extensive use of words with intelligent suggestions of irony. Good song with some great echo later on to look out for.

Stellar – Another one discovered from Napster, quiet mystical wisperings start pointing to desolation, space etc. slips into hard, loud guitar from where it rolls about repeating, retaining power throughout.

Make Yourself – Title track and the most powerful metal oriented song on the album. Boyd sings and screams of not letting society create him but building himself up to be strong in himself. “So when I make me, I wont be paper-mache . And if I fuck me… I’ll fuck me in my own way.” Very loud, heart felt, great song.

Drive – The single America loved, trippy upbeat very memorable story of self doubt being overcome as Boyd takes control of his life, takes the wheel and drives.

Clean – Starts slowly with light drumming and builds up beautifully, finds very decent guitar before dipping again, lyrics get fairly clumsy here but pick up well for the resounding body of the track from which it rolls along nicely to it’s natural well timed end.

Battlestar Scralatchtica – Superb instrumental with great scratching that Kilmore does so very well. Great amount of funkiness at the best place for it, works to perfection paving the way and settling the mood. Some have said this shines of laziness, but it works, and that’s all that counts. Isn’t it children?

I Miss You – Very honest love song with genuine emotion, never really gets loud but stays at a level which works brilliantly in the lyric’s tenderness. Articulatly done as always with some very effective melodies and the “letter home” style works well.

Pardon Me – After “I Miss You” the band quickly revert back to the quick fire rock that is at the heart of the album and band. “Pardon Me” is constantly fast flowing with persistently great drumming and rhythm, it all works so well together, all making for a more then competent track.

Out From Under – The final track starts and ends pretty heavy, screaming throughout for us to “resist and multiply” fighting conformity et al. The lyrics aren't too imaginative here as the concept of the small guys against mass corporate America and or the west is hardly new or original. It works however and comes out very powerful so no complaints really.

Well there you go. Are you convinced? Well you should be, it’s a true classic and as Kerrang so rightly said everyone should have one. Enjoy