We could spend a night, and watch the earth come up.” Stellar is a very similar track to Pardon Me, in which utilizes the same types of effects and also became a radio single. Along with the guitar volume swells and turntable effects, the first line is unforgettable, “Meet me in outer space. Another single, Stellar is a spacey love song in which Brandon’s vocals are, well, stellar. Drive is also an indication that Brandon has indeed developed as a pure singing vocalist, as is Stellar. This is by far the most mellow and poppy song on the record, offering a nice contrast to the hard rocking edge of the rest. Brandon’s singing is superb here, and could likely be one of his best performances. Drive to this day is Incubus’ most famous song, but is a bit misleading in terms of the sound of “Make Yourself.” Drive is an acoustic driven track with a memorable riff and a catchy chorus. Single Drive was a massive mainstream hit, and even reached the pop charts. Like many others, the Incubus that I first heard was off of this very record. “Make Yourself” inherits what is sort of an outer space theme, in which is conveyed through turntables, volume swells, and other strange effects. The result however, was a more cohesive record than even “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.,” with more diversity than ever before. Some may have considered this to be a recipe for disaster for Incubus, considering that the band thrived on Boyd’s rapid fire vocals and Lance’s fiery bass lines. As opposed to “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.,” Incubus lightened up, and like Boyd’s vocals, the music was calmed down in both tempo and brutality. Lead singer Brandon Boyd had shown a great deal of maturity as well, by abandoning his raspy and unforgiving scream, for a much cleaner and quite magnificent singing voice. By 1999, Incubus had grown as a band both maturing as songwriters and incorporating more variety into their music. It would be easy to say that Incubus had gone downhill with this release, even to say “Incubus sold out with ‘Make Yourself.’” This however, is not the case. With their third-full length release “Make Yourself” in 1999, Incubus went commercial. Despite having a somewhat large fan base with “Fungus Amongus” and “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.,” Incubus did not gain the mainstream success that they are associated with in the present day. Both of Incubus’ first two records utilize an accelerated, and sometimes frenzied pace, without a great deal of variety. “S.C.I.E.N.C.E” is truly a wild experience, with Brandon Boyd screaming his lungs out and Dirk Lance tearing apart the foundation of the tracks with his bass. Incubus’ sophomore effort “S.C.I.E.N.C.E.” may remain as the band’s most innovative album, by losing some of the funk, but adding a great deal of chaos and brutality. “Fungus Amongus” was a record that the world had never seen the likes of, and was flawed, yet enjoyable. The 1995 debut “Fungus Amongus” was an obscure release to say the least an intriguing fusion of rap, metal, and funk. With an extremely talented core, Incubus produced two completely contradictory records, each with a distinct sound. Not necessarily from the standpoint of their success, but rather how they kept fans while their music continued to changed. Review Summary: Incubus goes mainstream, but for the better.