CheekyChicago

Incubus frontman Brandon Boyd’s first solo album The Wild Trapeze is an exercise in learning about and exploring oneself away from one’s usual context. Born from the question “Who am I… today?” (and self-admittedly, pot-induced musings), Boyd wrote all 10 tracks while Incubus was on hiatus. Going a step further, he also decided to play most of the instruments heard on the recording (the exception being strings and keys, which are played by producer Dave Fridmann). Therefore, it’s not exactly a polished debut, but it is enjoyable, nonetheless.

Boyd offers an explanation on the Incubus website: “So much of my identity, both personally and creatively, has been attached to and related to Incubus. For better or worse!… The Wild Trapeze is an exercise in self reliance. A leap of faith as to and into one’s powers of intention. A coalescing of one’s peripheral aptitudes in the hope of realizing a larger picture. And above all else, an accurate portrait of an Artist in his Process right around year 34 of his time on Earth.”

So what is this “portrait?”  It’s mostly a straightforward, slightly more acoustic offering that’s a little heavy on the drums at points. On the title track, Boyd is coming into his own (and sounding slightly Stone Temple Pilots-ish) as he describes a scene in nature; “Here Comes Everyone” taps into stale cynicism. “Courage and Control” seems to be the track that, if there were no further explanation, would suffice as one for the reasons behind this project.  “All Ears Avow!” is a bit harder than the rest of the album, but it’s a fine way to go out – sometimes you need to go a little crazy, I guess?

Does this signal the end of Incubus? Fear not. The band is currently working on a new studio album, to be released in 2011.