Review Summary: No Dirk, but the band survives.
From debut “Fungus Amongus” to “Morning View,” bassist Dirk Lance played an integral role in the success of Incubus. Lance’s funky slap-bass style drew allusions to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bassist Flea, among others. With the changes that the band underwent from album to album, Lance’s technique began to separate from Incubus’ new sound. While perfectly suited for the chaotic and funk feel of “Fungus Amongus” and “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.,” the band’s more alternative sound almost eliminated the need for Lance’s inconceivable talent. Turntablist DJ Lyfe left the band prior to “Make Yourself” due to creative differences, and the same could very well have been the case for Dirk Lance. To this day, the reason for Lance’s departure is unclear, but with a band that continues to shift in terms of their music, creative differences are a very likely explanation. Following his exit from the band, Incubus acquired bassist Ben Kenney; a move in which has proved to be beneficial for the most part.
Incubus’ “A Crow Left of the Murder” takes on yet another altered approach to its ancestors. While putting forth another creative effort, “A Crow Left of the Murder” is the band’s strangest since “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.” The spacey edge of the band’s past two albums has long since been replaced by stranger, and even more unconventional sound effects than ever before. Opener
Megalomaniac showcases this, beginning with fuzzy and almost irritating sound effects; eventually leading into the lead single of the record.
Megalomanaic is not only one of the band’s most intricately developed singles to date, but also conveys the aggression that a great deal of the record is propelled by. “A Crow Left of the Murder” is not necessarily a heavier album by Incubus’ standards, but features some of the band’s most angst-driven songwriting.
Beware! Criminal while giving off an eerie and ominous feel, is quite unforgiving. Boyd convincingly sings, “You crawl in bed. It's three AM. You smell of wine and cigarettes. A butterfly under the glass; you are beautiful but you're not going anywhere.”
Sick, Sad Little World follows the same path; its hateful and blaming ambience is not lost among the aggressive and incendiary guitar and bass riff.
Where it seemed that Dirk Lance elevated the previous records when necessary, it is Mike Einziger who steps up here. Delivering an effective solo in follow-up single
Talk Shows On Mute, and shredding his way through
Sick, Sad Little World and
Pistola just to name a few, Einziger has established himself as a vital portion of the band more than ever. With that said however, Ben Kenney is efficient throughout the record, despite not being as innovative and talented as Lance. Kenney’s basslines are impressive is several sections of the album, including the solo segment of
Pistola and throughout the throbbing
Sick, Sad Little World. “A Crow Left of the Murder” is noticeably restrained however, something that would not have been the case with Lance.
Like “Morning View,” this record in particular has its share of mellow tracks from the sappy
Southern Girl to piano ballad
Here in My Room. The latter is triumphant in exposing Brandon’s brilliant and versatile vocals, and is undoubtedly his highlight on the release.
Talk Shows On Mute is another one of these tracks, but is overall a ready-made radio rock song that neither conveys the band’s creativity nor talent. “A Crow Left of the Murder” suffers due to the fact that the mellow tracks besides
Here in My Room do not come close to those type of songs on “Morning View.” On top of that, several of “A Crow Left of the Murder’s” tracks are structurally deficient and come off as messy.
Priceless features an accelerated riff not unlike
Sick, Sad Little World, but is irritating and poorly mixed so that the drums stand out to a fault.
Priceless is also where the record seems to drag on, for several of the proceeding tracks do not offer much of anything new or of stand-out value. This exposes the album’s issue of inconsistency, which is something that Incubus has not shown since “Fungus Amongus.” On the contrary, “A Crow Left of the Murder is an enjoyable listen and a very solid one at that; contributing more tracks to Incubus’ already dazzling music library. Most importantly however, this record displays that the band is capable of producing great music without Dirk Lance.
Recommenced Tracks:
Megalomaniac
Beware! Criminal
Sick Sad Little World
Pistola
Here in My Room
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