Tracks
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This album has some good songs on it, but it's definitely no "Morning-View." I find the music that came following Dirk Lance's departure (starting with this album) to be much less focused, ranging from "kinda slipshod" to "... yeah, I honestly can't understand how this made it onto an album." For the most part, what I hear on this album is a lot of ham-fisted banging, crashing and "whoo! Look at how HIiIiIiIiGH I can sing!" vocals (for example, the song "Leech") over trashy guitar tones that seem like they're trying to use less overdrive if for no other reason than to impress you with subtlety. Come on guys, this isn't the 90's anymore. Incubus could get away with this on earlier albums (for instance, the arrangements of "Wish You Were Here" and "Just a Phase") because the guitar was written with sophistication and poise. But here it's just a lot of *blangety-blangy-blang* that sounds like it's coming out of a really lack-luster amp. Their message is still often very thought-provoking, but I still don't need most of it for all that the music fails to grab me.
Here are the songs I found most worthwhile from this album.
1) Megalomaniac - I like how experimental Enzinger was with the guitars here. The whole first thirty seconds or so sounds like special-effects from some kind of old-fashioned UFO-centric TV show. And the guitar that follows could have been more overdriven, but with the band playing along and bringing some very cohesive percussion to it, it hits just hard enough to please me. This song's video was actually banned from daytime showing on MTV when people started to realize it was a bitter reprisal of the Bush administration. It's kind of funny, they chastise Bush for being a ruthless, despotic type, and the authorities respond by banning it. Taking that course of action really only proves the song's accusation is true, though. I guess it just goes to show you're not really saying what needs to be said until they start telling you you're not allowed to say it. "Freedom of speech" is a thing of the past, and America has gone fascist.
4) Talk-Shows on Mute - Here's another good political song. References to classic subversive literature ("come one, come all, into 1984..." "still entrance-fixed, the electric-sheep are dreaming...") and an otherwise strong message of waking up, deciding for oneself and ignoring the plastic, deceptive mainstream media make this a song for the intellectuals and rebels. Also to its credit is that this time Enzinger wrote a guitar riff that actually has some complexity, and expressed it through an attractive almost-clean guitar tone.
5) Beware, Criminal! - So this one is clearly more personal, and also plays even heavier even than Megalomaniac - at least in the chorus. I think this song is about a lover of Boyd's who's very asleep in her life, very predictable and it's making him feel stuck. He looks at her like "a butterfly beneath the glass." He stands on the outside of her pattern and observes, and realizes he'd ultimately rather not be with her.
8) Southern Girl - Another personal song. The vocals are handled well and the guitars are thought-through well-enough to keep me entertained. I guess it conveys this unfamiliarity and tonally it's kind of dark, but simultaneously has a clear sense of attraction. I don't really relate to it but it's still nice to listen-to.
13) In My Room - And lastly... another personal song. This one has memories for me, and I think it was cleverly written. The repetitious, ecstatic nature of the lyrics and vocals are clearly meant to remind one of sexuality, which is fitting to the song. A girl I used to see introduced me to this song and she always thought it was really sexy. I like the sound that comes-in in the second verse that's almost like a bomb-blast going-off somewhere distantly. It makes things interesting.
Overall I give this a three out of five. It's better than not for the songs it has, but I wish it were heavier in places.
Here are the songs I found most worthwhile from this album.
1) Megalomaniac - I like how experimental Enzinger was with the guitars here. The whole first thirty seconds or so sounds like special-effects from some kind of old-fashioned UFO-centric TV show. And the guitar that follows could have been more overdriven, but with the band playing along and bringing some very cohesive percussion to it, it hits just hard enough to please me. This song's video was actually banned from daytime showing on MTV when people started to realize it was a bitter reprisal of the Bush administration. It's kind of funny, they chastise Bush for being a ruthless, despotic type, and the authorities respond by banning it. Taking that course of action really only proves the song's accusation is true, though. I guess it just goes to show you're not really saying what needs to be said until they start telling you you're not allowed to say it. "Freedom of speech" is a thing of the past, and America has gone fascist.
4) Talk-Shows on Mute - Here's another good political song. References to classic subversive literature ("come one, come all, into 1984..." "still entrance-fixed, the electric-sheep are dreaming...") and an otherwise strong message of waking up, deciding for oneself and ignoring the plastic, deceptive mainstream media make this a song for the intellectuals and rebels. Also to its credit is that this time Enzinger wrote a guitar riff that actually has some complexity, and expressed it through an attractive almost-clean guitar tone.
5) Beware, Criminal! - So this one is clearly more personal, and also plays even heavier even than Megalomaniac - at least in the chorus. I think this song is about a lover of Boyd's who's very asleep in her life, very predictable and it's making him feel stuck. He looks at her like "a butterfly beneath the glass." He stands on the outside of her pattern and observes, and realizes he'd ultimately rather not be with her.
8) Southern Girl - Another personal song. The vocals are handled well and the guitars are thought-through well-enough to keep me entertained. I guess it conveys this unfamiliarity and tonally it's kind of dark, but simultaneously has a clear sense of attraction. I don't really relate to it but it's still nice to listen-to.
13) In My Room - And lastly... another personal song. This one has memories for me, and I think it was cleverly written. The repetitious, ecstatic nature of the lyrics and vocals are clearly meant to remind one of sexuality, which is fitting to the song. A girl I used to see introduced me to this song and she always thought it was really sexy. I like the sound that comes-in in the second verse that's almost like a bomb-blast going-off somewhere distantly. It makes things interesting.
Overall I give this a three out of five. It's better than not for the songs it has, but I wish it were heavier in places.