Alanis is back and Incubus is live

Now available is one of the most awaited releases of the past few years. Havoc And Bright Lights is the latest album by Alanis Morissette, one of the biggest-selling artists of all time, and she has pulled up quite a surprise. Now marriage and motherhood do change everybody. Those were what she had been up to since 2008. And hard rocker though she was and maybe still is, it turns out that the mostly angry, Grammy-winning Alanis is no exception.

The CD is her first after an absence of four years. Amidst the highly-charged guitars and electronic beats, it has the soft tones of a woman, happy and fulfilled. Will this disappoint the fans who were angry alongside her in Jagged Little Pill or who wallowed with her in the throes of heartbreak through Flavors Of Entanglement? Maybe. But I am very sure that she will also earn lots of new ones. This is because like the contrasting images expressed in the title, Alanis now teeters between two different but also similar worlds.

It all depends on how you want to look at things and in this case, her music. She has not really ditched the fighting stance. Shades of the strong Alanis ready to take on sexual politics or misogyny or even the world remain in the hard rockers like Woman Down, Numb, Win And Win and Celebrity. Also still present is the intellectual Alanis, the astute observer of all the emotional and psychological quirks that females fall prey to in Empathy, Spiral and Receive. She also has something to say about an old subject, drug addiction in Havoc.

On the other hand though, would you believe, the opening cut is a light rocker, the hit single Guardian. She then bathes her discovery of emotional connection with a muted glow in Lens. She has even written a conventional love song, ‘Til You, which is dedicated to her husband, the rapper Souleye. And then here is the big clincher, like a wise philosopher, she sits back, takes stock of everything and writes Edge Of Evolution, and then uses it as a summing up tune to close the album. 

The girl has now gotten her music juices flowing and I will not be surprised if we start getting more from Alanis soon. I am sure these will be albums that maybe simply varied in their contents like her latest or if she gets more adventurous, something totally different. Now because we do not know anymore what to expect from her, Alanis has just become quite interesting again.

The band’s two-disc album Incubus HQ Live features its intimate performances

And now here is a great harvest of familiar sounds from one of the most well-loved of contemporary rockers. Incubus HQ Live by the platinum-selling group Incubus has reached the local stores. It is a two disc-album featuring intimate performances of the band’s hits and fan favorites on CD and DVD. It sounds fantastic and the visuals are great. 

Truth to tell, it is almost unbelievable that this live recording was actually made in a storefront space in La Brea Avenue, West Hollywood in Los Angeles. Incubus decided it wanted to do something for its fans to celebrate Incubus’ 20th year as a band in 2011. So it hired the place and did six nights of free shows for its fans. And this album is the result.

Yes guys, Incubus is also getting on in years. Brandon Boyd the lead vocalist; Mike Einziger on lead guitar, piano and backing vocals; Chris Kilmore on keyboards and turntables; Ben Kenney on bass guitar and backing vocals; and Joe Pasillas II on drums, have now been making music together for 20 years. The band has done a lot of sounds and gone from the loud and heavy S.C.I.E.N.C.E. back in the late ‘90s to the unabashed romanticism of last year’s If Not Now, When?. Here in Incubus HQ Live, it sounds better than ever.

I saw an ad for this album and it says that there are three discs, two CDs and one DVD. What we have in the local stores is obviously an abbreviated edition. Not really a problem for the new Incubus fan. It makes an excellent sampler. But for the diehards who do not wish to miss out on anything, start looking for that three-CD set. 

Meanwhile among the cuts included are: Wish You Were Here, Circles, Promises Promises, Anna Molly, Just A Phase, Nice To Know You, l Miss You, Megalomaniac, Nowhere Fast, Adolescents, If Not Now When? Consequence, Rogues, Isadore, Glass, In The Company Of Wolves, Pantomime and Blood On The Ground.