Even if you're the type of person who doesn't fancy the musical stylings of someone like Incubus, you've got to at least admire them for one thing. The older that these guys get, the farther they try to distance themselves from rap metal nitwits like Korn, Hoobastank and Limp Dipshit. Excuse me, Bizkit.

With every passing release since their dim witted S.C.I.E.N.C.E. album, Incubus, it would seem, have tried like mad to incorporate a sound that would garner them respect and even critical acclaim for being a band that moved away from such imbecilic boundaries, while still keeping their hard rock edge and a mainstream fan base.

Now, with a new cleverly titled album A Crow Left of the Murder, and unofficial sixth member of Pearl Jam Brendan O'Brien producing, you'd think that Incubus would have no trouble at all in succeeding in having an album that is generally liked, or at least a bit more accessible. Unfortunately here however, that is not the case. In the past, lead singer Brandon Boyd has been the torch-bearer for long-haired devil-horned rockers, and bare chested sensitive balladeers, but for most of Crow, Boyd seems to think that he really has a knack for writing lyrics that have a political message. Please! That's like saying Matt Leblanc has any chance for a career after Friends, I'm just not buying it.

In "Made For TV Movie," Boyd spouts off such lyrical garbage as "I heard a word from on high, glare like a light in the sky, it said 'quit blowing each other up.'" Oh such profundity! But wait there's more. On "Pistola," which is definitely the holy grail of pretentiousness on Crow, Boyd squeals, "It's a fountain of youth, and a patriot's weapon of choice! My pen is my pistola!" Maybe a foreign exchange student from Guatemala, might appreciate such an insightful metaphor, but all I can picture is Chris Farley in Incubus' dressing room, doing that thing where he pushes his glasses up and down, "I'm sorry, is that Brandon Shakespeare, over there," right before he falls on top of the coffee table.

It really is a shame that Boyd's lyrics took a swan dive off the deep end, because lead guitarist Michael Einziger has never sounded better. On "Sick Sad Little World" Einziger's guitar work is a fiery fury. And on "Zee Deveel" it almost sounds like he's been taking lessons from another great axeman; Larry LaLonde of Primus. In fact, Einziger sounds superb on most of Crow, but Boyd has to ruin most of it with
lines like "I want you bad! I understand why they say - High School never ends." Perhaps he's right - he may need to go back and finish that remedial English class.