Post-Nothing Rock: Incubus - Morning View (2001)

Why I Like It:

If someone were to ask me 20 years ago, what genre from the 90s would be making a resurgence in the 2020s, I would never have guessed shoegaze. This is the genre that is famous for staring at their shoes while preforming for goodness sake. Acts like My Bloody Valentine, Ride, and Catherine Wheel I did not see influencing so many acts in our current age. Then we have the Deftones, a band that uses metal and shoegaze together in a beautiful ying and yang pull that have been an even bigger influence then I ever imagined. Some folks have said they are Radio Head level of influence, which blew my mind to think of, but could be true. I'm not the critical expert.

In the early days, the Deftones were lumped into the Nu Metal genre - which their first couple albums could be argued for - then later they shed that title around Diamond Eyes (or at least when I noticed it). BUT this is not a Deftones post. It's too easy to do Deftones commentary. Now Incubus on the other hand, that's a band I'm also seeing the influence show themselves in the mid 2020s, as given examples by the No Filler podcast and Swim Into The Sound website.

Incubus is a band that was also lumped into the Nu Metal label with the album S.C.I.E.N.C.E., then Morning View came out (after the superb album Make Yourself, that still had some Nu Metal tinge) and it was a whole new game. Similar to what Deftones did. So why does Morning View stand out above the rest for me? One reason, I must admit, is that it has one of more favorite songs of all time "Wish You Were Here" but there is more.

Recently I read a quote from a Substack post that reads: "Your music depends on the things you do outside of music just as much as the things you do within music" and this connected me to story of Incubus renting a house in Malibu to record Morning View, which is the street name of where they stayed. The article mentions that there's this phenomenon called 'Studio Monk Syndrome', where the clinical and methodical method of making a album in a studio can feel lifeless or hallow. Kinda like something AI has made. But what happens when someone adds the experiences of living life into their sounds? Well, it's something uniquely human, and lived in. There's passion, messiness, and borders broken. Just look at their closing track Aqueous Transmission for example, it is a blissful zen song that is lead by a Pipa instrument and a chorus of frogs. That would not be in your typical "rock" album.

When I read this Substack article from Sound + Creativity, I suddenly understood why Morning View is my favorite Incubus album. It's the most human and real sounding.

If this is what inspires the new generation of artists, then I am excited to see what comes in the late 2020s.

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