I'm eager to hear this new album, I've been listening to Make Yourself and Morning View quite a bit lately.

i thought it was going to be their best album ever, but i am actually kind of disappointed.


with different song structures i think a lot of the songs could be so much better. a lot of them just don't feel like they 'go' anywhere. and earth to bella should be one track. and they should've made quicksand longer and put it last


i am saddened on this day

[QUOTE=I Am a Hat;13672582]the last section with vocals reminds me of part of drunkship of lanterns by the mars volta, but i don't hear any ACLOTM


edit: the pre chorus sounds kind of like a part of leech[/QUOTE]

Yeah I think that's it.

edit- yes, definitely.

I'm downloading the new one now.

I'm once again disappointed at this album. I've tried really hard to like them ever since they took a new direction but god what a load of crap they put out. They're constantly changing their sound but not growing as musicians. Yeah their music is more technical now but they sacrifice musicality for experimentation and musicality. Now they do things for the sake of experimenting even though a certain part might not make sense in the song.

pwnt
 

I've just downloaded Light Grenades and it's pretty much what I expected. I particularly like 'Love Hurts' which I'm hoping they'll release as the single. There are a lot of angst rock tracks that are awesome such as 'Rogues' and 'Light Grenades'.

love hurts will be the "drive" of this album. i like it, but i know that when all the annoying "i love drive" incubus fans who haven't heard shi all else latch onto it, i probably won't like it anymore.

This album is far from "a load of crap" but it's not that good either. It's a very frustrating album for me, because I feel like it had the potential to be a pretty epic record, but they simply dropped the ball on the execution of a lot of parts.

My main gripes:

1) Brandon. I swear he pisses me off more and more with every album. He actually sounds absolutely fantastic on some parts of the album IMO, but these are his worst lyrics overall since the Fungus days. Quite frankly, I'm tired of hearing about his relationship/love issues. I realize that it's only natural for a singer's lyrics to reflect what's going on in his or her life, but I'm sick of it because quite frankly I think he's gone a long way in ruining some of their songs over the last few years.

I can handle a little bit, don't get me wrong; in fact, the lyrics in AKTSUO and A-M are love/relationship themed and they don't bother me at all. But he really cheeses up a lot of the album and worst of all, nearly kills an otherwise absolutely gorgeous song (as pop/mainstream as it may be) in Dig. Seems like he's been running out of things to say lately, with all the lame cliches he's throw in lately ("This wouldn't be the first time, will not be the last time"...are you f'in kidding me?).

2) The production. At first I thought it was fantastic because this album sounds 100x better on headphones and/or stoned (which eventually opened my eyes to the album not really being that great), but they need to part ways with O'brien on the next album. A lot of the mixing is just terrible and it seems to me that there's a lot of times when the L/R balancing and panning should have been done a certain way, but wasn't.

3) Suprisingly, Mike's solos. I'm not saying I want him to go back to really basic, simple solos (Drive, Echo, etc.), but IMO he's at his best when he's doing melodic stuff vs. the "let me see how many crazy sounds I can get from my pedals" and sometimes Mars Voltaish atonal style he uses on LG. I think one of the best things about ACLOTM was the balance he found in his soloing, and he strayed way too far from it on LG.

Again, this is just a very frustrating album for me because they spent so much time on it yet parts of it feel so sloppy and rushed. I do enjoy a lot of it: Quicksand, AKTSUO, Dig (musicwise), A-M, Rogues and Pendulous threads are all quality material if you ask me....but even some of those had the room to be some of their finest work to date yet came up short.

Truly amazing band.

Fav songs:

make yourself
wish you were here
i miss you

Peace.

Hello. Just dropping in and giving my two cents on this album. I bought it yesterday at the music store in which I work, opened it, took it home, then realized the next day that it hasn't been released yet. So hopefully next week I'll have a job/not get sued hard. :p

Oh and keep in mind that I haven't read much of this thread. So if this has already been determined, sorry. I'd like to make a few posts elsewhere in the forums before I go off on a month of inactivity. Haha

This is probably the most disappointing album I've ever bought. Not much else to say, really. I've listened to this album seven or eight times in about 36 hours, and it's just bland. Sounds nothing like the old, creative Incubus that [I]was[/I] one of my favorite bands. I feel like I've heard it all before, only in a much more creative way. No songs stand out, and that surprised me greatly. There are always a few songs on their CDs that are just awesome. This is like a compilation of their not-so-super songs. I'm not feeling the inspiration from them. Maybe they've grown tired of being Incubus. For me this is one of the more sad days in regards to music.

It's not bad. But that's not a compliment [I]at all[/I].

I'm done ranting now. Good to see you all, hopefully I'll be a regular again one of these days. Enjoy yourselves and if you find any good music let me know. :thumb:

EDIT: After reading some posts it looks like that I'm not the only one to share this view.

It's really that disappointing?

It depends on what you were expecting really. I was expecting a masterpiece so I was pretty disappointed too. It has some amazing bits (Love Hurts, Dig, Anna Molly) but some parts are boring (Rogues, Pendulous Threats), just like the last album.

I wasn't expecting an insane prog concept album. I was expecting sweet pop, and that, IMO, they handled well.

CiminoUM5: I agree on the lyrical content and the imbalance in the guitar solos.

Ive listened to Incubus on and off since Ive heard Morning View, I feel that this album will be nothing less than a satisfactory album

[QUOTE=Neoteric;13684618]It's really that disappointing?[/QUOTE]

For me, yes. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I definitely expected a good album. They've not put out anything less than great, so I was very surprised.

It's not even sweet pop. It's bland rock. I'm going to have a few more listens and I'll drop back in and tell if you if it's grown on me.

Have a good Thanksgiving!

I've enjoyed the few tracks I've heard so far, and this band has failed to disappoint, so I'll go into it with an open mind Tuesday.

I'm looking forward to listening to it still. The negative reactions have not discouraged me.

My opinion after a few more listens:

I don't think it's as bad as I did. Doesn't compare to their other stuff, though. Today I started to remember some good parts and recognize the songs more. Not nearly as disappointed as I was, but it's still nothing compared to their other albums.

The intro song is awesome, I will say that. Track 12 is also very good, although I can't remember the name.

It's worth buying. If you'd had asked me that on Wednesday I probably wouldn't have said that. :)

What's your favorite Incubus album, for reference? I'm a Make Yourself/Morning View kinda guy as opposed to Science/Fungus. I'm also a really big fan of A Crow Left...

I'm the same way. Make Yourself and SCIENCE were my favorites, ACLOTM after those, and Morning View. The early stuff was cool, but not my favorite stuff. I'm comparing it to the SCIENCE Incubus to present.

I'd compare it most to ACLOTM, but I there are about four songs on ACLOTM that would easily be the best song on Light Grenades.

I think I'll probably enjoy it.

Yeah, I'm not sure why I didn't like it at first. Maybe because I was expecting something spectacular?

It's enjoyable. I can't deny that. It's weird having the album already. I feel weird about it. Haha

Gonna wait till tuesday to get this, hopefully its good as they said it is!

So I just bought Light Grenades. I'm not overly impressed, on the whole. The first four tracks from Quicksand to Anna Molly are awesome, I'm talking really good. Dig in particular is a great tune, one of the best Incubus have written.

But from Love Hurts onwards, the album is just so...dull. Earth To Bella Pt. 1 isn't just dull, it's actively bad. Awful song. The only stand out tracks in the second half of the album are Diamonds and Coal and Pendulous Threads. The rest are painfully average.

The album as a whole is no where near as good as any of the other albums the band have released, but individual tracks are as good if not better than anything they've ever written.

I really do love this album.

Quicksand into A Kiss to Send Us Off is awesome, and I love Dig. Anna Molly is a great single, and I agree with what Bea said earlier about Love Hurts being the "Drive" of the album.

Light Grenades is eh, but I like both Earth to Bellas. I really like Oil and Water and Diamonds and Coal; Rogues is a pretty cool song. Paper Shoes is one of my favorites, and Pendulous Threads I like about half the song.

I really like this album, probably not as much as Make Yourself, but imo it's pretty good.

tbqh I love how divided the opinions are on this album. :)

I love the thrashness of some of the songs, like Pendulous Threads and AKTSUO.

i like the album


and i think love hurts is a really good song. but i do agree with some of the songs being weak (earth to bella), but all in all its a good album. try not to compare it to their other stuff. theyve progressed alot with their music.

[QUOTE=Justin;13708589]Quicksand into A Kiss to Send Us Off is awesome.[/QUOTE]

yeah and earth to bella part 2 blends into quicksand if you have it on repeat:thumb:

i really like this album. they are touching base with the heart like they havent before. usually it was a vauge love song (aside from i miss you and stellar).
all the songs that i didnt care for at first have grown on me. really good album!

Really? Wow I'll have to try that.

Cool.

I used to hate this album, but now I really like it. It only took 30 or so listens. :p

Oil and Water is the highlight of the album. I love that song.

I just got my real copy.

The artwork is really weird/awesome.

[QUOTE=Justin;13708589]I really do love this album.

Quicksand into A Kiss to Send Us Off is awesome, and I love Dig. Anna Molly is a great single, and I agree with what Bea said earlier about Love Hurts being the "Drive" of the album.

Light Grenades is eh, but I like both Earth to Bellas. I really like Oil and Water and Diamonds and Coal; Rogues is a pretty cool song. Paper Shoes is one of my favorites, and Pendulous Threads I like about half the song.

I really like this album, probably not as much as Make Yourself, but imo it's pretty good.[/QUOTE]

you know i'm right :p

i'm not the biggest fan of the first three songs, i mean, i like them, but i tend to skip them more often than not.
don't know if i have said this or not on here yet, but my top songs have to be anna molly, love hurts, diamonds and coal and paper shoes.
i have listened to this album so so many times now, it really is great. it still isn't old incubus, but that's probably never coming back :(

^mhm.


My play count for Anna Molly was 100+ and everything else was 25+ on itunes lol.

But I imported the actual CD so now they're back to zero.

but wtf:

if you buy it on itunes, you get an extra song, Anna Molly acoustic.

and then in the Japanese version, there are two extra songs.

:(


anyway, I can't wait for the concert :cool:

yeah the Japanese version songs are called "punch drunk" and "Look Alive" which are both AWESOME songs that i cant belive didnt make the American copy. anyway this is definatly an album that grows on you. it gets better everytime i listen to it..and i love when albums do that

is there anyway to change the incubus forum name to "The Pendulous Thread" that'd be hot.

:eek: i want extra songs!!

i booked my tickets for april on friday, IT IS SO FAR AWAAYYY!!

they were so awful when i saw then the summer before last, but i think that was down to their sound quality because it was half way through the day at readong festival, so hopefully april will not disappoint.

I saw them... maybe like two and a half years ago at Madison Square Garden in NYC; they were amazing.

You already bought them? Mine aren't even on sale yet lol, and it's in January.

yea, i was at eden's, and he has no internet, so i had to call up SO many times, but it worked in the end :cool: ordering them so early is annoying, it feels like so long to wait :(

I'm listening to the album for the first time through now. So far so good. The music is great, but AKTSUO sounded over-mastered. It might just be my computer speakers.

Y'know, this album did what ACLOTM did. It grew on me. I loved the first 4 tracks from day one but the rest have really really grown on me. This album is up there with Make Yourself and ACLOTM. I still could have done without Paper Shoes though.

Does the new album have a similar sound to ACLOTM?