Crowbarred's Mellow Mix Volume 2: MM Vol 2 - 116

MM Vol 2 #116

Incubus

"Are You In"

(2001)

Genre: Alt Rock

Incubus [to me] were finally the answer to the millennium quagmire of having not to listen to shit music over and over and over. However, after their 2001 album [can i still call them albums?] "Morning View" they too started releasing dribble in 2003 with "a Crow Left Of Muder" [which I loved the title, of course, but that was abut all the album offered] and started sounding like everyone else. Oh well all good things must come to an end, right?

Right, so anyway, "Make Yourself" from 1999 had already featured 2 songs in Mellow Mix Vol 1 Numbers 014 (Drive) & #046 (Pardon Me) and to be blunt, most of the album could have made MM Vol 1, it was that good. So you will find it no surprise there are 4 songs from "Morning View" which will be featured here in MM Vol 2. Oh and as fortune would have it, I got to see Incubus live in 2003 [?] with Creed & Sevendust. Incubus sound just as good live as they do recorded.

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Fans who discovered Incubus and their album Make Yourself through their massive radio hit "Drive" may be surprised that the band released a follow-up album so quickly. Yet the reality is that Make Yourself was a definitive sleeper hit, never peaking past the Top 50 of Billboard's album charts, but staying on those same charts for close to two years and in the process shifting over two million units. With each successive single that was released, the band gradually moved away from the nu-metal/Ozzfest crowd they had been initially lumped into and revealed the solid songwriting and talent for a good melody underneath the layers of surging guitars. The lessons learned from Make Yourself have definitely been applied to Morning View. While there is still a fair share of aggressive numbers ("Circles," " "Blood on the Ground," and " "Under My Umbrella" arguably the strongest of the harder tracks), the ratio of softer and mellower numbers have increased dramatically, to the point where hardcore fans of earlier material may be bewildered.

High 5 ... er 10

For the most part, the transition works. "Mexico" is a sparsely arranged acoustic ballad that gives lead singer Brandon Boyd an opportunity to demonstrate his formidable vocal range. "Are You In" is an upbeat, funky tune reminiscent of Sugar Ray (and that's meant in a good way). The most offbeat track is the album closer, "Aqueous Transmission," a tranquil, exotic-sounding ballad that sees the band successfully experimenting with Middle Eastern string arrangements. Not all the experiments gel ("Echo"), and there is a tendency, especially in the middle third of the album, for the songs to sound too similar in sound and tempo, but on the whole, Morning View is a fine follow-up to Make Yourself and a natural progression in the band's musical evolution. While it may not appeal to fans of the harder material, music lovers who like their rock a little less aggressive and a little more ambitious and, well, sensitive should give Morning View a spin. ~ [Deren Svendsen, All Music Guide]

For more Incubus visit MM Vol 1 #014 & MM Vol 1 #046

For Creed visit MM Vol 1 #003 & MM Vol 1 #048

For Sugar Ray visit The Def 1000 #939 & MM Vol 1 #085

This song has a crowbarred rating of 88.4 out of 108

Incubus - Are You In
Uploaded by fuzz59