Incubus Didn't Miss Its Calling

Hello, Incubus. Haven't been too terribly acquainted with you since the "Drive" days of the early 2000s. Listening to your new "Absolution Calling" effort makes me want to confess what a miserable mistake that judgment call was. The gents bust out in full funk metal explosiveness. During this song you go from one level on the elevator sound machine, down one floor, then back up to the primary level. Look up to the sky and you'll witness fireworks exploding in each color of the super charged rainbow. Did Incubus swipe a page from the Muse playbook? I don't believe so but the band's commitment to shifting tonalities right and left demonstrates they're in the same time zone as the arena rock titans. The accompanying video features choreography direct from the cutting room floor of "West Side Story". The actors flex their manliness muscle convincingly. Much like the chord progressions the acting chops come in waves. Doesn't leave much for vocalist Brandon Boyd to do except jump on board and enjoy the cruise. Chris Gilmore deserves to be singled out for how he prods keyboards to center stage. The remaining players feed off of his undeniable energies. Chris reaches out his hand. Guitarist Mike Einzinger demonstrates that he's equal to the overtures. Throw in some finger snap filler. Drop bassist Ben Kenney underneath the hood of this whacked out ride. Put the harmonies on the stove to let simmer. Nobody's sitting in neutral. That effort translates into stunning artistic growth. "Drive" got its tentacles into the moseying state of mind. "Absolution Calling" has smoke coming out of its nostrils in the vein of the fairy tale dragon set. If staying business is the workforce's ace in the hole then "Absolution Calling" guarantees job satisfaction. Call it lunch pail on overload mode. Then again funk delivers that audio blow to the inner cranium already so surprise isn't warranted. So what gets honor role shout outs in the lyrics portion of tonight's program? I say we hand the medal over to "The medicine smile". If you take anxiety reducing drugs you'll cop your own smile in mere seconds. "Come see the sights of sages" gets points for landing flush in the Deep Thoughts/Jack Handey pocket. Incubus stem to stern sticks to a solid rhyme scheme script (e.g. "sages" "cages" "sun" "one"). Brandon wordsmiths his way past any defense mechanism he encounters. Macho rock certainly has its place in music's orbit but hip hip hooray for material less burger and fries and more filet mignon. Discriminating tastes are apt to sink their teeth into this master chef's sumptuous selection. It would be a grievous error to assume Incubus got complacent between 2011's "If Not Now, When?" and the two EP set slated to invade eardrums during the early stages of 2015. "Absolution Calling" doesn't need to repent for jack squat. Brandon Boyd's prickly heat inspiring turn behind the mike rewards listeners who aren't overly eager to hit the iPod shuffle button. The overall sound generously serves you the best magic carpet ride possible. Because Chris gets so appetizingly engaging in the way he precision pinpoints his keyboard that you become compelled to allow ears to bounce tennis match style from one angle on the court to another. If your ears could belch their joint approval, then "Absolution Calling" would be just the mouth watering dish to get them throwing it out Homer Simpson style. "Absolution Calling" should not be declared a wrong number.