Light Grenades

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Light Grenades
Against a background with white and orange stripes features a bomb with white things and a heart in the middle. Above is "Incubus" in white and "Light Grenades" below in orange. A light is flashing in the background.
Studio album by
Incubus
Released24 November 2006
RecordedJanuary–July 2006
StudioHenson Recording Studio, Hollywood, California
Southern Tracks Recording, Atlanta, Georgia
GenreAlternative rock
Length47:36
LabelEpic/Immortal
ProducerBrendan O'Brien
Incubus chronology
A Crow Left of the Murder...
(2004) 		Light Grenades
(2006) 		If Not Now, When?
(2011)
Singles from Light Grenades
  1. "Anna Molly"
    Released: September 20, 2006
  2. "Dig"
    Released: March 27, 2007
  3. "Oil and Water"
    Released: June 5, 2007
  4. "Love Hurts"
    Released: October 7, 2008

Light Grenades is the sixth studio album by alternative rock band Incubus, released on November 28, 2006, on Epic. The album sold 359,000 copies during its first week of release worldwide, and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 165,000 copies in the US in its first week; it is the band's first number one album.[1] However, until November 20, 2016,[2][3] Light Grenades held the dubious honor of having the title of the biggest drop from No. 1 in chart history, falling to number 37.[4] The album achieved Gold certification, less than the band's previous Platinum records beginning with 1999's Make Yourself.

History

"Earth to Bella" and "Love Hurts" made their live debut in front of an audience at the Make Some Noise concert on April 29, 2006.

"A Kiss to Send Us Off" and "Anna Molly" made their live debut on VH1's Decades Rock: Live Tribute to the Pretenders on August 11, 2006, even though the songs were not featured in the program. The same two songs were also performed at Edgefest 2006 on September 30 at Tempe Beach Park, Arizona.

"Rogues" made its debut at a pair of pre album-release shows at the London Astoria and the Berlin Postbahnhof on November 14 and 16, 2006.

The songs "Punch Drunk" and "Look Alive" were recorded during the Light Grenades sessions, but were originally only available as bonus tracks on the Japanese edition of the album. Live versions have since seen release worldwide on the Look Alive live DVD. The studio versions of both songs are also on Monuments and Melodies.

Musical style

Mike Einziger, Incubus' guitarist, commented in an interview with MTV that the album "sounds like 13 different bands playing 13 different songs... Every time we're about to start making a new album, I tell myself, 'Okay, this one's going to be cohesive,' and it never happens."[5] For the most part, Light Grenades expands upon the sounds previously explored in 2004's A Crow Left of the Murder....

Other songs showcase a new direction for the band. For example, Brandon Boyd describes the curious recording technique behind "Paper Shoes": "There's a song called 'Paper Shoes' where Michael and I mic'd our bodies with ambient mics and did the percussion tracks pounding on our chests and skulls. The galloping rhythm is us pounding on our chests. It was really funny. We were trying so hard not to laugh because we were sitting there like cavemen beating our chests!"

Themes

When asked about the album title, Boyd explained: "There's a song called that on the record and it felt like the most pertinent conceptual aspect of the album, the idea of throwing ideas at problems and the ideas explode with light and good results and intention on consciousness. So I started imagining imagery of students in different countries protesting and throwing Molotov cocktails with masks over their faces. But there's one brave student who runs up to the police line and, as opposed to throwing rocks or things that destroy, there's this concept of that one courageous, lonely student running up and throwing ideas and having them actually change things. It just seemed kind of a cool concept: the redefining of weaponry."

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[6]
Alternative Press[7]
Blender[8]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[9]
IGN8.8/10[10]
PopMatters7/10[11]
Rock Sound8/10[12]
Rolling Stone[13]
Spin[14]

At Metacritic, which assigns a rating determined by a "weighted average" of reviews from mainstream critics, the album received a score of 65 out of 100, based on 13 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[15] However, Beats per Minute later identified this album as the start of Incubus' decline in quality that continued with later, softer releases such as If Not Now, When? (2011).[16]

Jon Foreman of IGN praised the single "Dig" in his December 2006 review, but also noted, "Incubus is not limited to poppy, commercially viable tracks like this; tracks that can be (and have been) the downfall of other, less forward thinking bands. With influences from Faith No More to Ani DiFranco, the almost schizophrenic range they have established for themselves counts wholeheartedly on the fact that fans and critics alike realize that the varying genres they incorporate into their music compliment [sic] one another with credible aplomb. In other words, they would not be able to make a track like 'Dig' work on the album without complimentary [sic] tracks like 'Pendulous Threads' or 'Light Grenades'".[10] Mike Schiller of PopMatters wrote in January 2007, "Boyd sounds as Patton-esque in his modern rock operatics as ever, and the band has perfected the transition from studio-friendly perfectionists to intentionally messy well-produced garagers."[11] He further adds, "Incubus has never made a perfect album — no, not even S.C.I.E.N.C.E. — and Light Grenades, truth told, is far from perfect. 'A Kiss to Send Us Off' sounds a little too much like it’s aping Foo Fighters, both 'Earth to Bella' tracks sound forced and disjoint, and there’s still a little too much in the way of faceless middle-of-the-road rock ‘n roll. Even so, there’s not a single track on Light Grenades that’s truly revolting."[11]

Joe Crofton of MusicOMH considered it to be an improvement over A Crow Left of the Murder.... He wrote in his November 2006 review, "I wasn’t expecting much, and on the first hearing I thought my theory had been proved right. Incubus had devolved into a boring sell-out, pandering soft pop-rock to young girls. However, when I removed my sceptics glasses and opened my eyes I began to realise that there is so much more to this record. These are actual songs, in the vein of Make Yourself and the better half of Morning View. Whatever teething problems they may have been experiencing with new bassist Ben Kenney, it all seems to have been resolved."[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Incubus.

No.TitleLength
1."Quicksand"2:13
2."A Kiss to Send Us Off"4:16
3."Dig"4:17
4."Anna Molly"3:45
5."Love Hurts"3:57
6."Light Grenades"2:19
7."Earth to Bella (Part I)"2:28
8."Oil and Water"3:49
9."Diamonds and Coal"3:46
10."Rogues"3:56
11."Paper Shoes"4:17
12."Pendulous Threads"5:35
13."Earth to Bella (Part II)"2:58
Japanese bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
14."Punch Drunk"5:14
15."Look Alive"4:21
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."Anna Molly" (acoustic)3:59
Best-Buy pre-sale bonus disc
No.TitleLength
14."Anna Molly" (live)3:55
15."Drive" (live)4:07
16."Love Hurts" (acoustic)3:57

Release history

Region Date
Europe 24 November 2006
America 28 November 2006

Personnel

Incubus

Singles

  • "Anna-Molly" – was briefly available online on September 20. It was slated for release on October 16, and debuted at No. 19 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Anna-Molly" peaked at No. 1 on the Modern Rock chart,[18] at No. 4 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart[19] and at No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100.[20] The song is featured in the music video game Guitar Hero: On Tour.
  • "Dig" is the second single from Light Grenades. The video for the single was chosen from a pool of applicants in a fan-film contest. The song is featured in the music video game Lego Rock Band.
  • "Oil and Water" was the third US single. It was released to radio stations on June 5, 2007, and climbed to No. 8 on the Modern Rock chart.[21][22]
  • "Love Hurts" was released as the third single in some international markets. It was released as the fourth US single in October 2008, 16 months after "Oil and Water".
  • "Light Grenades" is used on the soundtrack of the Xbox 360 game Project Gotham Racing 4.

Charts

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
2006 "Anna Molly" Billboard Hot 100[20] 66
Modern Rock Tracks[18] 1
Mainstream Rock Tracks[19] 4
2007 "Dig" Billboard Hot 100[20] 94
Canadian Hot 100[38] 72
Modern Rock Tracks[18] 4
Mainstream Rock Tracks[19] 17
Adult Top 40[39] 17
"Oil and Water" Modern Rock Tracks[18] 8
Mainstream Rock Tracks[19] 38
2008 "Love Hurts" Modern Rock Tracks[18] 1

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[40] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[41] Silver 60,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[42] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Katie Hasty, "Incubus' 'Grenades' Ignite At No. 1", Billboard, December 6, 2006.
  2. ^ Jeff Giles, "Bon Jovi's 'This House Is Not for Sale' Takes Steep Tumble on Sales Charts". Ultimate Classic Rock, 1 December 2016
  3. ^ Keith Caulfield, "A Tribe Called Quest Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart After 20-Year Wait". Billboard, 20 November 2016
  4. ^ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2017.
  5. ^ Chris Harris, "Incubus Find Explosive Cure For Boredom: Light Grenades", MTV, August 1, 2006
  6. ^ Allmusic review
  7. ^ "Reviews – Alternative Press". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2007.
  8. ^ "Blender - All Things Blender, All In One Place". Blender. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007.
  9. ^ "Light Grenades - EW.com". Entertainment Weekly.
  10. ^ a b Foreman, Jon (December 7, 2006). "Incubus – Light Grenades".
  11. ^ a b c "Music Reviews, Features, Essays, News, Columns, Blogs, MP3s and Videos – PopMatters". January 2, 2007.
  12. ^ "rock-sound.net-rock sound Resources and Information". www.rock-sound.net.
  13. ^ "Light Grenades". Rolling Stone.
  14. ^ "Spin review". Archived from the original on February 22, 2007.
  15. ^ "Light Grenades Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
  16. ^ "Beats per MinuteAlbum Review: Incubus - if Not Now, When? | BPM". onethirtybpm.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2015. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  17. ^ "Incubus - Light Grenades | Album Reviews". November 27, 2006.
  18. ^ a b c d e "Incubus Chart History: Alternative Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  19. ^ a b c d "Incubus Chart History: Mainstream Rock". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  20. ^ a b c "Incubus Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  21. ^ MDP (July 7, 2007). "The Billboard Reviews: Singles". Billboard. Vol. 119, no. 27. p. 72. ISSN 0006-2510.
  22. ^ Jonathan Cohen (November 29, 2008). "Something to 'Love'". Billboard. Vol. 120, no. 48. p. 44. ISSN 0006-2510.
  23. ^ "Australiancharts.com – Incubus – Light Grenades". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  24. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Incubus – Light Grenades" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  25. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Incubus – Light Grenades" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  26. ^ "Lescharts.com – Incubus – Light Grenades". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  27. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Incubus – Light Grenades" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  28. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Incubus". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  29. ^ "Italiancharts.com – Incubus – Light Grenades". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  30. ^ "Charts.nz – Incubus – Light Grenades". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  31. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Incubus – Light Grenades". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  33. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  34. ^ "Incubus Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  35. ^ "Incubus Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  36. ^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  37. ^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2020.
  38. ^ "Incubus Chart History: Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  39. ^ "Incubus Chart History: Adult Top 40". Billboard. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
  40. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Incubus – Light Grenades". Music Canada.
  41. ^ "British album certifications – Incubus – Light Grenades". British Phonographic Industry.
  42. ^ "American album certifications – Incubus – Light Grenades". Recording Industry Association of America.
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