After a few years below the radar, Incubus is back with their trademark broad appeal and tonal mastery. Their last effort, A Crow Left of the Murder, seemed to fail to attract the attention of potential listeners despite early exposure. That album took a more political stance, and perhaps forfeited some of the broad base that Incubus is able to command. Light Grenades, Incubus' latest album, returns to the band's previous themes of relationships, longing, and connections to life.

Incubus is capable of creating capturing tones in their music like few other bands. Perhaps it is their addition of a DJ, which few rock bands incorporate, or perhaps it is just the chemistry of the band, but whatever it is, it is by far Incubus' strength. Listeners will be hard pressed to find truly unique and outstanding guitar work, drumming, or vocals on any Incubus album, but what they will find in almost every song is an entrancing feel that sucks the listener in and takes them along for a ride from the start to end of the song. In Light Grenades, this skill is particularly redeeming because it helps along the many slower, mellower songs. The album has few hard-rocking tracks, but the drifting tone of songs like Dig and Love Hurts keep the songs interesting and listenable.

The album occasionally falters into mediocrity, but the faults are the exception, not the rule. Some songs feel like they pander to radio stations in an attempt to score more radio play than A Crow Left of the Murder received. Ironically the first single off of the album, Anna Molly, is one of the best tracks, but it escapes radio-single homogeneity with some interesting beats and a driving, forceful feel. Unfortunately, one of the few harder songs on the album is the low point. The title track of the album feels forced and seems to be included in the album to make up for the lack of other heavier songs. It doesn't compare with Incubus' better hard songs, and that is a shame because Light Grenades lacks hard songs such as the ones so pleasantly dispersed in their earlier albums like Morning View.

The album as a whole works as a cohesive unit, and will likely please fans of Incubus while providing a few enjoyable songs for new listeners of the band. Most of the songs are very tightly written and have a very solid and well thought out feel to them, which is why the album deserves an above average grade of a B. There are certain sections of the album that stumble to be sure, but the album is a worthy purchase for Incubus fans, and should be given some track-by-track consideration by all rock and alternative fans.