IN REVIEW: Incubus - "Trust Fall (Side A)"

Talk about slowing down. After a run of six worthy, interesting studio albums between 1995 and 2006, Incubus has taken their sweet time releasing music since; a half-decade waited was rewarded with tepid, toothless seventh record If Not Now, When? in 2011 and, nearly four more years later, the band has released twenty minutes worth of music with the promise of more to come once they finish their upcoming summer tour plans.

Trust Fall (Side A) has higher stakes than perhaps any Incubus release before it; not only does it have the unenviable task of following up the most coolly received record of their career, it's also their first release for new label Island following a long tenure with Epic. It's on the band to not only move units for the label, but also to reestablish themselves with fans who may have otherwise jumped ship.

Accordingly, Trust Fall (Side A) finds Incubus in mea culpa mode; from the friendly, low-risk entry fee (I paid $5 for the CD, but you might want to skip the vinyl) to the more energetic approach as compared to If Not Now, When?, the four songs chosen to reintroduce Incubus to the masses seem oblivious to that previous record's existence.

Trust Fall's title track leads the EP off with some of the sprawling, experimental flair the band last went for in earnest on 2004's risky, rocking A Crow Left of the Murder; it lacks that big, juicy chorus that awarded them chart domination in the early aughts, but it has purpose and urgency. Stretching itself over the six-minute mark, it's refreshing in that it proves the band is still willing to challenge themselves. The following track, the bedroom slow jam Make Out Party, is almost uncomfortably seductive but otherwise effective, even with its obnoxious synth solo and hormonal teenage lyrics (friendly reminder: Brandon Boyd, the man pleading for a make out sesh and cooing "Let me introduce you to my slippery fingers / Glistening and dangerous, I'll use them all in ways that would make you giggle at my funeral", is 39 years old).

Lead single Absolution Calling is Incubus' most explicit attempt at reconnecting with their fans, and it certainly does the trick. Its locked in groove, combined with the EP's most immediate chorus and tasteful instrumentation, make it the most evocative of past glories. It's not offensively derivative of past hits, though; more so, it aligns with those older singles in a way that speaks to cohesion and consistency rather than retreading or dependency.

The fourth and final song on Trust Fall (Side A) is its most surprising; Dance Like You're Dumb, in an act of what I can only interpret as calculated diversion, rides a fuzzed out, bass heavy groove that tips more than a hat to tourmates Death From Above 1979, sports the EP's silliest lyrics ("pink Boba Fett"?!), and features both a synth solo that attempts to out-annoy the one on Make Out Party and a gospel-inspired choral breakdown. It's a somewhat baffling conclusion to Side A considering everything about the song screams "B-side", but you can't fault them for having fun, which is something you don't often get to accuse Incubus of.

Trust Fall (Side A) turns out to evoke a mixed bag of emotions. They haven't been this engaged and inspired in over a decade, and that's great news, but the overall quality of the tunes makes you wonder if this is really the best they could muster up in four years. The second half of records are typically weaker and, if that holds true here, I can't imagine there will be too much excitement surrounding Trust Fall (Side B) whenever it surfaces. The effort here is certainly noble, but there's a lot of work to be done yet.

May 12, 2015 • Island

Highlights Trust Fall • Absolution Calling

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