Incubus – Make Yourself (1999)

In the wake of the demise of Grunge and other forms of Rock music of the 1990s, there came room for bands such as Incubus to make their way into the ears of many. With the band named after a demon who sleeps with women, this should be a very heavy and interesting listen. Produced by Scott Litt, this is the third album by the group, so let’s take a listen to it and hear if it sounds any good.

We kick off with Privilege which begins with a catchy, overdriven guitar riff, before leading into a melodic and heavy sounding song that is incredibly decent to hear. A wonderful sounding piece of music, this has some decent singing and musicianship here, and is very uplifting here as well. Some DJ style intermission beats are here, before going straight into the song at hand. Brilliant and awesome, the immediacy of this music makes it a real winner, and it has another DJ breakdown here instead of a guitar solo, which is quite a different sounding structure here. It’s a real winner of a song, just sounding truly great and uplifting music. A nice start to the album here.

Following is Nowhere Fast begins with some liquid sounding electric guitar parts, before launching into a heavy metal kind of piece with some awesome riffs and drumming. A great piece of music with some melodic Hard Rock singing, heavy guitars and some Jazz style drumming, this is definitely superb. The immediacy of Incubus is very apparent here, and the music here is very much best described as Alternative Rock, although Incubus also follow a Heavy Metal template here. There is an electric Sitar solo here, just in case you weren’t paying attention at all here. Some awesome tremolo affected singing then enters, before this piece gets going again. Awesome and immediately good, Incubus are amazing sounding. The song ends with ear piercing feedback.

Consequence comes next, with some more liquid guitar parts, before entering with some excellent drum work and some semi-Rapped vocals here. The chorus changes things, with some well sung lyrics and some DJ scratching throughout this song. A brilliant and wonderful piece of music that is melodic, heavy and uplifting, this is really an excellent listening experience. Nice Heavy Metal styled music, this is wonderful to hear. A great listen, this is energetic and wonderful listening from start to finish. It segues into the next track with more DJ scratching.

The Warmth begins with some eerie sounds, somewhat akin out of a horror movie, before launching straight into a delayed guitar part and some clever drumming. This is a really cool listen, with some great singing entering in which is both soothing and restless sounding. The chorus here is really excellent, with some lyrics about keep one’s composure in a messed up world. A wonderful listen from start to finish, this has some awesome harmonies, prior to an electrifying guitar solo entering. Really excellent and punchy sounding, a great listen when the mood strikes. Great to hear, it ends with some repeated sounds and heavy bass guitar to fade out with.

Following is When It Comes which begins with some weird guitars and mixing, before launching into a sensationally good set of multitracked guitars here. A thrilling and awesome piece of music, this is electrifying and powerfully great in the chorus here. A great piece of musical accomplishment, this is a great Hard Rock/Heavy Metal piece that sounds really superb. It has some great musical structure here with some lyrics about not consuming society’s rubbish, this is a really electrifying and upbeat listen. Great song with a chaotic finish with screaming and extended outro, this is really superb music. A genuinely good listen.

Next here is Stellar which begins with Morse Code, sound weird electronics, guitars and calm vocals here. A really awesome and superb listen, this sounds really upbeat and excellent. There is some really excellent bass playing here, too, which showcases the musicality of the group here. With lyrics about outer space and travel in that aspect, this is a great song to listen to. Extraordinarily good, this is a very upbeat and excellent sounding song. Great Heavy Metal inspired music, very catchy and full of dynamics here. Great singing here, sounding somewhat like a calmer and less neurotic Kurt Cobain.

Make Yourself is the title track here, with some downtuned guitar parts and static at the start here. It quickly launches into a thunderous Heavy Rock sounding piece that is gloriously good. It goes into a raging and screaming piece of music that is very powerful and uplifting, and sounds eclectic and awesome. There is some more DJ style scratching here, obviously a trick borrowed from Rage Against The Machine here. Some sexual and profane screaming is here in the second half, before launching back into the distorted guitar based mayhem. The outro is super fast, finishing with a loud scream. Brilliant.

Drive begins with some catchy acoustic guitar, DJ scratching and electronic sounding drumbeats, before launching straight into a song that is just awesome. A really fine listening experience, and this is a great piece with an unforgettable chorus here that is very touching. This is surely an underrated piece of music that sounds beautiful and wonderful here, and was a radio staple of the time which should be still so, in many ways. A weird keyboard sounding guitar solo is here to take you there, and with lyrical references to water and wine, being obviously quite Biblical here. Great song, and very memorable once you have heard it. Awesome stuff, a great piece to finish up with.

Next here is Clean which begins with interesting drum sounds that have been electronically processed, before some catchy guitar parts and electronic noises enter. The guitar playing is superb here, and is very catchy and full of interesting riffing. This is a loud Rock/Metal piece that sounds glorious here. One can sense how good and popular this music was at the time, it is seriously good. A song about love/sex issues at night, and this definitely sounds cool. It has some great singing here in the middle, before launching back into the dirty guitars here. A brilliant and original piece of music, this is very unforgettable. Great to hear. It finishes with more DJ scratching and heavy guitar riffing.

Following is Battlestar Scralatchtica which begins with some electronic drumbeats, funky wah-wah guitar and heavy bass. Yes, you read correctly, this is quite different for a band like Incubus to do. Still, it is sounds really awesome and fresh, with plenty of DJ scratching here. A cut up vocal sample is here, and the whole thing sounds clever and amazing here. It’s mostly an instrumental, but a fiery and excellent one at that. Very cleverly done, this is a really wonderful listen. It goes into rolling bongos, drumbeats and more wah-wah guitar that sounds delicious. Excellent piece of music, Incubus surprise you at every moment here. Great music, and a bit different here. It ends with some cool clapping, before the whole thing is reversed. Excellent.

I Miss You has some rather dark sounding guitar parts over laidback drum beats. Singing about a lover, Incubus make a great impression here about said lover in mind. This has a tremendous vocal performance here which is lively and driven. A great song about sex and sexuality here, as well as missing a partner, this is a short and wonderful melodramatic song that sounds wonderful and effortless. Really great to hear, there are some awesome processed vocals towards the end here that demand close listening.

Pardon Me begins with some electric guitar violining, before launching into a decent piece of music that is very much heavy and metal here. There are some excellent semi-Rapped vocals and muted wah-wah guitars here, before launching into a menacing chorus that sounds really excellent. A fine listen all the same, this has some extraordinary musicianship here. Great song, and an Alternative Rock staple that still sounds fresh and relevant today. Some crashing guitars and drums are here, and this piece comes very much alive towards the end. Great song, with a sustained chord fade out.

Last here is Out from Under which begins with a drum led intro, before going into a decent song to finish the album off with. Excellent music here, with a definite Grungy feel here. This sounds really excellent and uplifting here, it is a brilliant and energetic piece of loud and thunderous Heavy music here. Incubus have certainly made a decent impression here. There are more watery sounds in the middle here, with heavy bass guitar and other electronic sounds to keep you going. A tremendous scream is here towards the end, and this piece finishes nicely and awesomely here, too.

This is a very impressive and well delivered album for those out there who dig Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Grunge, Funk and a bit of DJ scratching as well. If you crave something new and different now that Kurt Cobain has long gone, this may be a good choice for you. Even non-Post Grunge fans will be delighted to hear this, it is quite an amazing listen. Seek this out today.

Awesome.

9/10