Incubus

When you call your band Incubus, you're asking for all the obvious demon-rapist jokes along with references to the ridiculously cheesy B-movie horror classic. But we're better than that here, so let's try to focus on the music. While most of the band's peers in the somehow still-solvent "alternative" rock...

By Brian Bardwell

August 20, 2009

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When you call your band Incubus, you're asking for all the obvious demon-rapist jokes along with references to the ridiculously cheesy B-movie horror classic. But we're better than that here, so let's try to focus on the music. While most of the band's peers in the somehow still-solvent "alternative" rock scene — Nickelback and Disturbed, I'm looking at you — are bad enough that you'd rather be sodomized by Satan himself than see their shows, Incubus is able to hover a little bit above the fray, putting together some more melodic, mature tunes — just as you'd expect from a band whose core has been together for just under two decades now. And you have to commend the restraint of a band that puts in that much time before putting out a greatest-hits album, as Incubus did this year. The two-disc set is a compilation of charted singles, rarities, and a few new tracks, so it's hard to tell whether it's meant for the casual listener of Clear Channel rock or the die-hard Incubus fan, but either way, it is — with only a few exceptions — a much better listen than much of the stuff similar bands are putting out, and enough to keep you interested in the album slated for release next year.

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