Incubus
Make Yourself

THE REVIEW

I have listened to this album countless times and each time these thirteen tracks have the ability to "force" me to listen without pause. But the main peculiarity of a good reviewer must be not to write as a fan and thus I will proceed with the most objective analysis possible.

It starts with "Privilege", which right from the initial riff hints at a continuation of great quality in terms of riffs and sounds by guitarist Einziger. The track flows with a lot of energy with a memorable chorus. It continues with "Nowhere Fast", whose introduction confirms what was said before with some great sounds from Einziger: now his trademark. Still a lot of energy, but well channeled with the meticulous attention to detail by Incubus themselves and also by producer Scott Litt. Energy that is felt not only in the first tracks but throughout the entire album. The record proceeds consistently with the premises introduced by the first tracks. Another track worth highlighting is "The Warmth", also very beautiful in the acoustic version, with a chorus that lends itself well to the guitar-voice arrangement. After a couple of other remarkable tracks like "When It Comes" and "Stellar", we arrive at the title track, which together with "The Warmth" and "Pardon Me", represents one of the highest moments of the album. The track starts with just guitar and voice, both filtered. The voice will remain filtered for almost the entire track. Notable also for the odd time signature (7/8). Following is "Drive", which granted Incubus great visibility even among those who did not know them before, with subsequent airplay on MTV, etc., etc... No harm done because the track remains well crafted, very catchy, with great lyrics (which doesn’t hurt, quite the contrary). Mention of merit also to "Clean", which begins with percussion played by Mr. Brandon Boyd: very impressive, especially live. A special note goes to the (almost) instrumental "Battlestar Scralatchtica" that showcases the immense skill of the musicians from Pasillas (drummer) to the bassist, including the DJ who is as fundamental in this track as in others like the initial "Privilege". "I Miss You" is another track whose impact is greater in its unplugged version, but on the album, it is played and arranged very well: pity about the truly pointless video. I have already mentioned that "Pardon Me" is part of the triad of the best tracks on this album: relatively calm introduction that then explodes only to fall back into calm with the verse sung by Brandon Boyd excellently, given the difficult metric of the verses: also here a memorable chorus. The album closes with "Out From Under" which perhaps highlights the "noisiest" soul of Incubus with a great sonic wall of distorted guitars: a track absolutely worthy of closing an album of such level.

Incubus is a great band capable of playing at extraordinary levels with great quality; also capable of infusing their more rock sound with the electronic textures of D.J. Kilmore, who in this album contributes greatly, contrary to those who consider him an unnecessary character within the group. In conclusion, a great album by a great band recently criticized for the latest releases that certainly do not have the depth of "Make Yourself", which remains the pinnacle of their discography, but nonetheless represent another step for a talented and original band.