Incubus' seventh album was released on July 12, 2011 !!
Let us open with a quote from the band's singer Brandon Boyd...
“By about three songs into the writing process, I think we began to understand that we were unearthing something new. If Not Now, When? is our unabashed, romantic, lush, sonic love letter to the world. It’s darker, slower, richer, more refined, and more involved than anything Incubus has birthed to date.”
As with almost every band, there comes a moment when they are looking for something different, they experience new things and strive to produce an album different from the ones they have produced up to that moment. Incubus experienced this moment and it came to it very ready!
In April 2008, after a long tour, the band took a break.
Do not get us wrong, the break was not due to fatigue, friction, musical disagreement, or lack of motivation, but out of full awareness that it was time to stop... it was time to connect to your roots, the environment, the family, and especially yourself. Brandon Boyd, singer, writer, and lead singer of the band, released his first solo album. Mike Einziger, the lead guitarist and writer, studied composition, music theory as well as biological evolution at Harvard University. Ben Kenney, the band's bassist, released his second solo album. Chris Kilmore, the band's DJ, and keyboardist, learned to play the piano, and drummer Jose Pasillas had a child. In addition to all this, the band released a compilation album in 2009 called "Monuments and Melodies", so it was not really a break.
In August 2010 the members of the band decided that they had had enough of the break and were interested in starting work on the new album. They came to this reunion ready, mature, and with great passion and desire to produce something different. Unlike the band's previous albums, the songs were written this time in the recording studio and not during the tour or in rehearsal rooms. They started the whole process together from scratch. The combination of the members was very much in line with the change that took place in the process of creating the album and the end result.
Sounds a bit vague but we'll explain.
(Photo: Brantley Gutierrez)
Each of the members testified that the experiences he went through during those two years influenced and blended in perfectly with the other members. Mike who studied composition and led the writing of the album, wanted to take the songs to a simpler, more pleasant, and less aggressive place. Chris who learned to play the piano, integrated amazingly with the new line created, Jose invested a lot in adapting the drums to the songs and not forcing on them the strong and aggressive sound as before. It turned out that the final product is much more complete, harmonious, and melodic, with Brandon's words simply moving and flouting through the sound.
Don’t get us wrong, this album is not as psychedelic, instrumental, or experimental as people like to call “different” albums of bands. Is an album where the band's amazing fingerprint is still felt, its core is there and it's still very clear, but the style is different. Fundamentally different from the aggressive guitars, fast tempo, effects, and dynamics of previous albums. In order for you to get some more lines for the character of the album, we will talk a little about the name and the cover.
The name of the album - "If not now, when?" Is based on the name of a novel of the same name written by the Jewish Italian writer Primo Levi in 1982. The name of that novel is taken from the patriarchs, verse thirteen - "he would say, if I do not have me, who do I have; If not now, when? a statement attributed to "Hillel the Elder". The name of the album matched exactly what the band felt, that they were taking a risk, that they were trying something that until now they had not dared to try. The album cover features the French famous rope-walking artist Philippe Petit, who became famous mainly for walking on a rope between the two towers of Notre Dame, and following the famous event, he walked on a rope stretched between the Twin Towers in New York in 1974. This is exactly what the band members Wanted to pass through the album cover.
An image that entails a lot of daring, talent, and extraordinary ability.
This album is a musical delight that takes you on a wonderful journey between amazing sounds and lyrics. He slowly sweeps you away at a slow pace, stroking you but occasionally moving you a little here and a little there. You feel as if your brain is going through an out-of-body experience as it hovers from above and floats among the clouds.
The only two singles that came out of the album and gave a little taste of what's going on inside our "Adolescents" and "Promises, Promises". But there are many more wonderful... "Thieves" gives you the feeling that Brandon may have lived in the country for a while... "Isadore" is a kind of charming love song... "In The Company Of Wolves" gives a few moments for self-observation... "Switchblade” which is the most rhythmic song on the album that shakes you a bit and of course the song that bears the name of the album and also opens it.
We highly recommend that you find some free time, put on headphones, and click play on one of the links below. We believe that this album will become an integral part of your weekly rest time.
Listen to: Spotify, Apple Music