2010 in Music - Brandon Boyd- The Wild Trapeze – B

You just have to take a look at the cover of Brandon Boyd’s solo album to have question marks sprouting from every pore. If like me you were blown away by the first four tracks of the last Incubus album Light Grenades only to be disgusted by the remaining 9, then as me, you might have given a listen with hope but a healthy grain of salt. Luckily for us fans, this tight album is actually quite good and a far superior product than Light Grenades. Well except for the production. Where Light Grenades was produced by Rock guru Brendan O’brien who did his best to make it all work, The Wild Trapeze was produced by Dave Fridmann (not a slouch by any means). I mention this fact because the audio in the tracks I’ve listened to sound a bit overblown and almost distorted. Supposedly it was a production decision, but it sounds a bit weird and if you read around enough, you’ll see some people have an issue with that. The production quibble aside, these 10 tracks prove Brandon has not lost his mojo and that when focused, he can still deliver Morning View and A Crow Left of the Murder worthy tracks. The album starts off with the Title track which has enough bite and swagger to make you forget Earth to Bella almost completely. The second track is “Here Comes Everyone”, another mellow number with good melodies and a catchy croon that like the Title track, entices you to give the entire album a shot since the chorus is solid, though not epic, which is more than fine. In general, I can describe the experience of the Wild Trapeze by comparing it to the side project of Silverhcair’s frontman The Dissociatives. The influences of the original are there, but this is a different beast. Actually, “Dance while the Devil Sleeps” sounds like something that could have come from the Dissociative’s self titled album. “A night without cars” is another great number and one of the more solid tracks on the album, showcasing interesting instrumentation, production flourishes and a solid vocal performance if Brandon ever had one. Then you have two decent filler tracks in “Revenge of the Spectral Tiger” which sounds endlessly more interesting than what it is and “Courage and Control”, a ballad which I don’t mind… unlike “Love Hurts” which always manages to make me to vomit a little. Then comes the “Pantomime”-like album single “Runaway Train”, a solid track that follows the vibe set at the beginning of the album with another solid chorus and enough beef to showcase the best of Brandon solo. Then you have “Last Night a Passenger” and “Mirror of Venus” which are safe enough, unintruding, inoffensive but far from revolutionary. The album ends with “All Ears Avow” which is a fun number that carries along the sonic motif for the album. So in the end, if anything, The Wild Trapeze basically shows that Brandon Boyd does have the ability to make an album’s worth of decent songs, but that without the direction of his fellow Incubans, he might put out a descent record, but he won’t go stellar.

Highlight Tracks: The Wild Trapeze, Here Comes Everyone, A night without cars, Runaway Train,