Brandon Boyd

The Wild Trapeze

Written by: PP on 01/12/2010 06:17:19

Most of you know Brandon Boyd as the lead vocalist of Incubus, one of the most accomplised and most revered alternative rock bands our our time. They're not just revered because of their ability to write pop songs like "Drive" or "I Miss You" and make them relevant for us rock fans, but also for their endless desire to experiment with the alternative rock format and push its boundaries further than any other band in the genre. They have a guaranteed standard of quality surrounding all but one of their releases ("Fungus Amongus", I personally despise that record), a guarantee that's also present here, on Boyd's debut solo album called "The Wild Trapeze". It speaks volumes about the kind of trust the label and the man himself have in his qualities as a singer given that the release has received next to no promotion; almost nobody knew it was even in the works before it was announced on the same day as it was released back in early July.

So what are we to expect from Mr Boyd? Well, as you might imagine from a solo album, it sounds a whole lot like Incubus. Except at the same time, it sounds completely different. Boyd's excellent and unique singing style makes it easy to form the association to his main band, and the softer style found on this album indeed resembles many of the songs found on 2001's "Morning View", but as we have learned on the last two studio albums by Incubus, there's always an element of experimentation in play. Here, the songs are introspective and acoustic by definition, but also toy with unusual sounds and rhythms that would've been unthinkable on "Morning View". Boyd's talent as a magnificent vocalist makes sure he pulls every track through on this release with his vocals alone, but the small nuances given by the light flutes and keyboards give additional flavor to many of the tracks. Think of the base sound as a juicy steak, and the additional instrumentation as salt for that steak; you won't taste much of it, but if left without the steak just wouldn't taste as good.

In a nutshell, what I'm saying is that "The Wild Trapeze" shares a lot of aspects in common with "Morning View", particularly the slightly poppier (if that's possible with Incubus) and more accessible sound, but is far more experimental than said album, though not at all to the extent of "A Crow Left Of The Murder". Boyd demonstrates again why he is considered as one of the most unique vocalist's in a field by transforming an album that, given most other vocalists, would've sounded strange and maybe a little too unconventional for most ears into a solid piece of acoustic alternative rock that should appease any Incubus fan hungry of new material from the band on hiatus.

7

Download: A Night WIthout Cars, Runaway Train
For the fans of: The long lost Incubus album between "Morning View" and "A Crow Left Of The Murder"
Listen: Myspace

Release date 06.07.2010
Sony Music Entertainment

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