Apparently Parts & Labor has been around since 2002 and have at least seven official releases. I've been missing out on a killer party. The newest release for the experimental rock band, Constant Future, is freaking awesome.
Before I get into that though, I need to give some explanation here. Incubus is probably my favorite band ever even though I don't listen to much like them anymore. There's a general consensus in the Incubus community that their older stuff is excellent, but as they've aged their sound has started to change into something not nearly as good as it used to be. They showed slight signs of life in Light Grenades with the songs Rogues and Pendulous Threads, but it was a sad showing overall. Light Grenades debuted at number one on the Bilboard 200. It shouldn't have. Not even close. People caught on and it still holds the record for biggest drop in rank, from 1st to 37th in the second week. But we who have jumped on the Incubus still follow their every word because Brandon is so hot or Mike is a sick guitarist (holy crap this guitar solo) or Jose is one of the greatest rock drummers ever (fact) or Ben Kenney used to be in The Roots or DJ Kilmore just looks cool on stage while adding foreign sounds. Anyway, the first two songs on Constant Future sound like what Incubus would have sounded like if they hadn't gone so poppy. (Fake Names and Outnumbered).
Constant Future is a marked by a bass that sounds like an alarm, a tinny synth, some weird knob things that one of the guys plays that sounds like wah and distortion-filtered guitar, and just normal drums. Weird combinations, but great sound.
Skin and Bones is a bouncing and swaying tune that makes me feel like a bunny hopping through a field of grass and dandelions. This is probably my favorite song on the album.
Echo Chamber is crazy. The synth is just straight, loud organ, but sounds like the equivalent of what a slightly powered laserpointer pointed at your eye feels like. The organ echos itself in a tunnel-like atmosphere created by echoing drums. Then the singer sings about being trapped in a tunnel-like place.
Neverchanger is heavy but more traditional than their other stuff. It's just drums, knob things that sound like heavily distorted guitar, a synth with a relatively unprocessed effect, glam-rock vocals, and excellent moments of harmonic-filled suspensions.
Verdict: 4.7/5. The tracks I talked about are my favorite.
Also, Incubus' seventh studio album is reportedly complete. Sweet.
Best, Jonathan
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