Incubus -Trust Fall (Side A)

To celebrate signing a new record deal with Island Records, Incubus has released a four song EP titled Trust Fall (Side A).  Falling somewhere between A Crow Left Of The Murder and Light Grenades musically, this is what most fans have come to expect from Incubus.  These four tracks are not nearly as experimental sounding as their last album If Not Now, When? nor are they as serious sounding.  It actually sounds like Brandon and the boys are having fun playing these songs.  Which is great, because it is fun listening to them.  Opening this fun musical adventure is “Trust Fall.”  A nice slow burning intro of guitars soon turns to an upbeat tempo with a funky driving bass.  Brandon Boyd’s lyrics are at their whimsical best weaving a story that sounds like falling in love is like a trust fall into the world.  By the time we reach the end of the song, Boyd turns from singing to  spoken word during the outro while the music fades out into the universe.  This might be one of their most electric numbers since “A Kiss To Send Us Off.”  Following that up is a tongue in cheek love song “Make Out Party.”  Ben Kenney’s bass is tuned down and driving this song with it’s sexy funk.  During the verses Boyd does his best high octave Prince impersonation that adds another dimension to this quirky love song.  The choruses hear his normal voice layered as drums move to the forefront adding desperation to it all.  The keyboards even get a great moment near the end of the song.  This is the fun type of experimentation long time fans enjoy from new Incubus music.  Heavy hitting and very deep lyrics make “Absolution Calling” the best of the four tracks.  Again, little things like the snapping and the extra voice tracks make this song complete.  Mike Einziger’s guitar playing here is fresh sounding while still balancing the older Incubus sound.  Like the previous two songs, the bass playing is some of the funkiest in their catalog filled with some great funky moments.  “I remember feeling the opposite of falling,” this song really takes you out into the cosmos of sound and words.  Ending this EP is “Dance Like Your Dumb,” another funky song that challenges the listener to not get up and dance to this fun song.  With classic lyrics like “then like a pink Boba Fett she calls you on your bet” and “dance like you got your legs from a cartoon,” this is fun-not-taking-themselves-too-serious sounding Incubus in the best way possible.  If I didn’t know any better, I might have thought a was listening to older Chili Peppers or b-sides from an earlier long lost Incubus album.  It feels like they have found the balance between mature song writing and the metaphorical fun of their older sound.  While four songs might be a small sample, if this is the direction Incubus goes I am hoping that we get a Side B to Trust Fall very soon.