The new Incubus album came out today and after listening to it a few times for the past week, I appreciate the change of direction for If Not Now, When? Sure, its just another band taking the more mature and mellow direction, but Incubus has been around for a good while to be able to take a risk in changing their overall sound. There will always be fans that still want more of the same mix of hard rocking and mellow tracks, but as the band grows older, you're bound to make some changes. The title track, which starts things off, does set up the overall mood and tempo for the rest of the album. "Promises, Promises" is a great lead-off single as I look forward to their picks for the rest of the singles since they most of them have single potential. I definitely dig the chill vibes from the album's first half as the only songs that has a little faster tempo you'll hear is later on with "In the Company of Wolves" and "Switchblade." Those songs are not that bad as they're probably the closest thing you'll get for old school Incubus.
Basically, this new Incubus album is worth a listen if you're looking for some new "chill rock" stuff to listen to as you're mostly going to get that for the majority of the album. It is also great to blast while driving casually (when you're not really in a rush to go somewhere). Certain fans may hate the new direction of their sound being more mellow, but this is probably for the best as they're another band that has matured over the past decade and capable to change things up. Plus, the frontman Brandon can still kill it with the vocals especially for this long. Then again, I'm been over the metal-ish type of rock for a while as my fixes for that have been the chill stuff, which is why Incubus's If Not Now, When? is something up my alley.
