Review Summary: Despite all what was said about this album, I thuroughly enjoyed it and recommend it to any fan of Incubus' or any fan of music in general. A very different Incubus than some are used to, but that's they way they are with every release.
Now I have read many reviews about this album, and most of the skeptics of it said that it’s one of Incubus’ “softer” releases. That is what kept me from downloading or buying this album as quick as possible. I mean when you look at the time period in Incubus’ career, you can say a few reasons why it could be a softer side of Incubus. The album cover and title itself could be one; they did the album in a nice, peaceful beach setting. It might be a little tough to be heavy as possible and make your music as aggressive as ever in that type of setting. Also the album before “Morning View” which was “Make Yourself” had some popular tracks that were not anything close to “S.C.I.E.N.C.E”. They were catchy acoustic tunes that had great vocal work, but not the aggressive fast paced head banging type of Incubus that some like me love. And on top of all that Incubus is the type of band that changes their style a lot, so I didn’t know what to expect with each release to the next. So after taking all that into consideration I clicked download on albumbase and impatiently waited to listen to this album. Whether it was soft or heavy it was all around flat out excellent.
To start off somewhere with this album, a nice place would be Brandon Boyd’s vocals. With Incubus’ changing style, Boyd’s vocals also change. For example in a fast paced, aggressive, heavier song on the album like “Blood on the Ground”, his vocals are mostly a yell and come close to rapping. This is the style older Incubus fans are used to, because the heavier, faster sound goes well with his almost rapping and yelling vocals. Those who like the softer Incubus get the vocally better Boyd. In softer songs Boyd uses a vocal style that reflects the song, softer, nicer, slower, and at some times gets faster and gets remotely close to a yell. This is very apparent in the lead single of the album “Nice to Know You”. As a whole Boyd gets to flex his vocal muscles throughout “Morning View”, transitioning from both of his styles, as well as loud to soft, and sounds as good as ever. Boyd’s vocals have to make up for much of what is lost from the lack of heavier play, and for the most part he does a flawless job throughout the album.
Now what everyone either hates or loves about this album, the instrumental play. Dj Kilmore is on this album, and does mainly what he does in “Make Yourself”. His turntables aren’t as noticeable on “Morning View”, which is different from the previous album he was on. On “Make Yourself” he had a whole song that was based on turntables, but on “Morning View” his play is noticeable really only on intros or quieter parts of a song. His turntables are also not as fast paced on the softer tracks, and are quicker and somewhat more a part of the song on heavier, faster tracks.
Besides the DJ, Incubus’ style changes dramatically in the drums, and guitars. To start off Jose Pasillas’ drumming on the album changes a bit. Basically similar to Kilmore and Boyd his styles transition from the heavy to softer tracks. For example on “Have You Ever” Pasillas’ drums is a force, he pounds away in frenzy, and adds a nice heavy background beat. On softer tracks Pasillas plays more technical, softer drum beats that stay mainly in the background.
Aside from Kilmore and Pasillas, there are two key parts of Incubus’ sound missing. Those parts would be bassist Dirk Lance and guitarist Mike Einziger. For Einziger a lot of this album includes acoustic guitar. For most of the softer tracks Einziger plays mainly a slower, acoustic riff, and at times it will expand into distortion and fast paced play. Einziger has never been the type to thrown down long complicated solos, so he makes up for that by focusing more on catchier, more complex riffs. The same thing goes for “Morning View”, this time just not as heavy. Lance’s bass is a huge part of Incubus’ heavier side. His bass lines are usually the most noticeable when songs start to get heavier, his bass bellows and explodes along with the other members of the band. On softer tracks his play isn’t as big as Einziger’s. Einziger’s guitar helps create that softer, catchier feel, while Lance mainly plays nicely in the background. On heavier tracks, similar to Kilmore and Pasillas, Lance’s bass is much more audible.
So there are the instrumental differences, similarities, and the pros and cons for fans that enjoy the softer Incubus in contrast to the heavier Incubus. The album as a whole is really a great album. For the newer Incubus fans this album is an easy pick up for you, Boyd’s voice is great throughout and Einziger’s guitar helps create that nice, soft, catchy feel to Incubus’ sound. Those fans of Incubus’ heavier side, this might be different for you. The heaviness at times is just not there, yet there are a few tracks that you would enjoy a lot. The Incubus in the days of “S.C.I.E.N.C.E” are gone, but that doesn’t mean Incubus’ good sound is gone. “Morning View” is mainly a softer album, but does still have some of that heavier element, just not as much. I’d say any Incubus fan in general should get this album, and that goes for anyone that likes music, to check this out.
Positives
-Boyd’s vocals
-Incubus, heavy or not, has songs that everyone will enjoy
-Einziger’s guitar work is a big part of Incubus’ newer sound
-More good tracks than bad
-Catchy lyrics
-Has a nice, soft feel to it
-Not very repetitive
Negatives
-Pasillas, Kilmore and Lance aren’t as involved
-Could be too soft for older Incubus fans
-Some tracks can get a bit boring
Recommended Tracks
-Nice to Know You
-Wish You Were Here
-Blood on the Ground
-Mexico
-Warning
-Have You Ever?
