Last year, Incubus, the Los Angeles natives, released another single off of their 4-track EP, Trust Fall (Side A), released on March 24th, 2015, titled with the same name, “Trust Fall.”
The six-minute track holds reminiscent qualities from various stages and albums of the band, and spirals into an alluring taste of sounds. The structure of this song reflects time, craft, and the qualities of Incubus that first made listeners fall in love. The last album, If Not Now, When? (2011), was great on its own realm and dimensions, yet lacked some magic compared to previous albums by Incubus. “Trust Fall,” combines the slow depth that If Not Now, When? possessed, and the earlier days of the band, primarily heard on A Crow Left of the Murder (2004), due to the songs’ energy, fast paced and in-sync flow, and amazing vocal execution by Brandon Boyd.
Fading in, with a surreal feel credited to a synth, follows a guitar, as it builds the song into a climatic and quite eerie sound, playing on the element of surprise. Background chimes are slowly introduced with the same persistent guitar riff repeatedly played. Within the first minute, “It’s only a trust fall,” is sung by Boyd at a slow tempo, yet builds on a platform similar to a choir. The opening vocal performance is rearranged versus typical song structures, by having a piece of the chorus start off the song, building the desired dramatic effect.
Boyd sings the most detailed lyrics with care, and emphasis on each word, acting out the lines. Revolving around the mystery of love, the indulgence, and wanting to be swept off one’s feet into a “trust fall.” The trust is played up throughout the song, and the seductiveness is felt heavily through the music and Boyd’s vocals: “Lure me with a lock of your hair / taking that dare, is a fire under my feet.” The fall can either be interpreted as when two lovers act on the desires within or the hesitation that may stir up questions about trust.
Musically, the precision of each instrument is in a category of its own, each exuding all they have. For a six minute epic track, the song holds nothing back and does spiral in sound. It will be felt heavily and dramatically, and play on each senses felt through “trust.” A softer side will be felt within the chorus, “Love is a blessed curse / let’s sail across the known universe,” then rises once more with a heavy bass and heart-mimicking loud drums. As the song spirals back down, the seductiveness, and cooling down of the intense feelings, are felt mentally within the lyrics as Boyd recites lyrics poetically.
Capturing the essence of an “allusion,” and the mystery of it all, Boyd ends the song with the words “into the arms of your captor / into the arms of the all.” A resolution of the trust fall, and the alluring mystery of what it can do, almost reassuring. As it fades out the simple sounds of a heart beating can be heard as it slows down and ends the 6-minute journey. From what has been released, the new EP seems to have more thought than usual albums, but not reverting back to commercial welcoming sounding tracks, or slower-tempos that were heard on the previous album.