when i first heard "if not now, when?", i was bored because i had an expectation of what i wanted the album to be like. when it didn't fulfill my expectations, i instantly wrote it off. i feel as though i always project my feelings onto something, hoping that it will be a certain way, and i can get let down easily because of it. i'm learning to try and be more open with things i experience, and form an opinion based on my experience rather than my expectations. so, in the end, i've come to the conclusion that i absolutely love this album. it is incredibly chill and so different from everything incubus has done in the past. it's definitely going to be one of my top album's of the summer.
i thought initially that the lyrics were simple and boring, but obviously i should never have assumed that brandon boyd would write words for the sake of filling space. there aren't a lot of lyrics, which threw me off a little as well, but i actually like this a lot better. brandon often uses a lot of words and phrases, in a very fast paced motion that really hits you, but these hit me in a different way. they're not lyrics that you can just take at face value (well most of the songs). looking at the lyrics away from the songs, they appear more like poems than song lyrics. though the two are often interchangeable, there is a marked difference between these lyrics and your typical rock record.
the musicality of the album. oh my god. it is obvious that mike's studies have heavily influenced his writing. the harmonies are ridiculous. "tomorrow's food," is a fantastic example of this. easily my favorite song on the album, and a perfect closing song, the beginning is haunting, with brandon almost speak-singing with beautiful dissonant harmonies. the deep strings support the simple melody, and round out the haunting appeal. it builds consistently with this same repetitive melody that is hypnotizing. the light strings come in again, ending the album in a light and quirky way, similar to the opening. the lyrics on this song are my favorite of the album: "is anyone out there? i am high and dry. suffering is a theme, but reckoning is the only reason why we suffer at all."
brandon had this to say about this song:
"Lyrically, i am specifically referencing philosopher ken wilbur's quote from, 'a brief history of everything.' 'no epoch is finally privileged. we are all tomorrow's food. the process continues, and a spirit is found in the process itself, not in any particular epoch, or time, or place.' no one has ever put so succinctly and eloquently into words how i felt about growing up. about reaching my mid-thirties. after reading this quote, and witnessing the vast push and pull at play, between the old and the new, and the young and the not so young, i saw the inherent beauty and the wisdom in the process of it all. and consequently, wrote a song about it. It is in this reporter's opinion that we are in the midst of a massive shift. Culturally, ethically, artistically, technologically, intellectually, philosophically and spiritually. Almost of the "-ally's". This shift has occurred before; with different details and end results of course. And this shift will happen again. Absolutely. The new thing at play is our awareness of this shift. The awareness that there is never an 'end of the world'. Only the process and the choice to witness and to participate. What may feel like the end of the world is that humbling moment when you realize that a new set of ideas has usurped your generation's ideas. Confused and confounded by the "way things are going" you can't help but think it's all going to shit, and that you have to fight to defend what you've built. But in actuality what is occurring is a necessary evolution. A handing over of the collective baton. If not now, when?"
"promises, promises," is the only song on the album i don't particularly love. oddly, it's the one that sticks in my head the most, but i think that might have something to do with it. it's too sing-songy and repetitive for me, and it sounds like the most produced track on the album.
"friends and lovers," i wrote off initially. at face value, it did nothing for me. but once i started to listen to the lyrics and the melodies, i realized that this was the perfect love song. "what's wrong with you is good, for what's wrong with me. and i think maybe we should stick together." i love these lyrics. no one is perfect, love is not perfect, but when you're in love you work through the bad parts because you have those flaws as well. when the flaws work together, love can flow.
of course i love "switchblade" because it's the one driving song on the album that has some of the harder incubus qualities. the song has a great beat, and brandon's quick singing comes back, but still reaches those amazing notes in the chorus. i think they placed it at the perfect spot on the album, ending the more up-beat songs on the album. "adolescents" seems to flow nicely from it.
anyway, if you have the album, and you hated it at first like me, listen to it 5 more times and your opinion might change. why should we expect artists to constantly produce the same thing over and over? this album is evolutionary, calm, dissonant, melodic and i can't wait to see it live this summer!
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