Herald rating: 3/5
Incubus are all over the place. They always have been, and that's the reason they divide opinion among music fans and are hard to nail down. On their sixth album, Light Grenades, they are berserk one minute (like the chaotic and messy thrash of the
title track), wimpy the next (as on the quieter parts of Earth To Bella), and sedate on Oil and Water. Sometimes the contrasts come across as contrived and fractured rather than effective.
But this variety keeps the album interesting. Opening track, Quicksand, slinks along like a sludgy version of the Cure's Lullaby, then bursts into A Kiss To Send Us Off, a characteristic OTT Incubus anthem which is Light Grenades' own Nice To Know.
No doubt there's some great tunes here. The title track is a cracker, Love Hurts is gorgeous, and Dig is proof Incubus, even after more than 15 years as a band, can morph and develop.
There's also no doubt that singer Brandon Boyd's serenading, Mike Einziger's riffs, and the ornate sounds conjured by their DJ and multi-instrumentalist, Chris Kilmore, will be as popular with New Zealand fans as albums like 2004's A Crow Left of the Murder and 2001's Morning View were. Thing is, it's not as solid.
Label: Sony
