Incubus: A Crow Left of Murder

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * *)

This fifth album by the Los Angeles group from the arty end of the nu-metal mob debuted at number one here last week. That faithful local following will also be well pleased with their tour dates here at the end of March. It was a bit held up in the works, what with the band suing Sony to be released from their contract and the label countersuing for albums owed - Incubus sales are in the seven million-plus bracket.

They settled and it would seem like business as usual, on a set which shows frontman Brandon Boyd has been doing some deep thinking about the state of the world - he starts on Megalomaniac ranting at celebrity culture. Energy-wise, it's a rockin' good start, as is the title track straight afterwards. But all too soon the balance of the 14 songs start folding into one another. Instrumentally, they're a cut above the usual nu-metal sloggers. But that means the tricky arrangements do seem to be compensating for song power, and that's not helped by Boyd's ability to hold the same angst-pained note for longer than is strictly necessary. That they are a more imaginative band than many of their peers doesn't really make this album any more interesting

Label: Epic