Jeff’s Songbook – “Stellar” by Incubus

LYRICS

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(Jeff Sistrunk is a journalism student at the University of Arkansas. He’s dedicated this week’s Songbook entries to those summer tunes that catch in your head.)

Incubus was the first band I ever truly invested in, and to this day I credit their West Coast-flavored alt-rock with jump-starting my interest in the bass guitar. Haters like to say that Incubus is “formulaic” and that they sold out after their heavy sophomore album “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.”

Well, those people are probably the same people who insist that Lou Reed’s “Metal Machine Music” is an unimpeachable masterpiece.

For me, Incubus has never been a “guilty pleasure” or a band that I’m ashamed to say I love. Sure, they’ve made a few missteps along the way (the egregiously cheesy radio hit “Love Hurts” being the biggest offender) but few modern rock bands have as much chemistry or integrity.

While not quite their best album (that would be 2001’s “Morning View”), “Make Yourself” marked a musical departure for Incubus. Whereas their first two discs were dominated by slap bass lines and wacky DJ samples, “Make Yourself” signaled a shift toward a more mature vibe.

“Stellar” is a perfect representation of this stylistic evolution. Mike Einziger’s jazz-inflected licks and Dirk Lance’s silk-smooth bass weave in and out of the track in mesmerizing fashion as singer Brandon Boyd projects himself into the cosmos.

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