This time around, it’s the lyrics that appeal to me (“You saw me lost and treading water/I looked pathetic/I looked as helpless as a stinger without a bee/But underneath my presentation (yeah)/I knew the walls were coming down/And the stones that fell were aiming away from me”) rather than the tune, which unfortunately comes off sounding a bit unoriginal and uninspired (save another break towards the bridge, which is again the best part of the song musically). The best part of the song, however, is the break before the last chorus scratching from Kilmore and a beautiful guitar solo from Einzinger gives the song a soothing and relaxing vibe.Ĭircles follows and has a harder sound than its predecessor. Boyd’s vocals are always nice to listen to, and even though he screams his way through the catchy chorus (“I haven’t felt the way I feel today/In so long it’s hard for me to specify/I’m beginning to notice how much this feels/Like a waking limb, pins and needles/Nice to know you…goodbye”) his vocals still remain pleasant, instead of moving to the “annoying” or “grating” territory that some of his contemporaries tend to end up in.

After the hushed intro, the song kicks into full gear with heavy drumming and a memorable guitar riff. The song begins quietly enough with a gentle synthesized wave which then leads into some soft beat boxing from Boyd.

The album starts off with Nice To Know You. The Calabasas-based band (which was composed of lead singer Brandon Boyd, guitarist Michael Einzinger, bassist Dirk Lance, drummer Jose Pasillas II, and Chris Kilmore on the turntables) created an album full of what could best be described as melodic rock songs with stunning melodies, well-crafted lyrics, strong vocals, and great musicianship in general. I purchased the album sometime between those teenage years, and fell in love with it almost immediately, and my fond feelings towards the disc still remain now. One of the exceptions is Incubus’ fourth album, Morning View. I’ll admit it now…few of the CDs that I purchased when I was 14 or 15 still remain in rotation in my CD player.

Incubus band press