Brandon Boyd – The Wild Trapeze

Hey all… Brandon Boyd’s anticipated debut solo album has arrived!

Forget publishing two books, launching your own Los Angeles art exhibit and making up 1/5th of alternative rock band Incubus – whose album sales exceed 18 million worldwide. Our favourite multifaceted frontman Brandon Boyd has brought an anticipated solo debut album, The Wild Trapeze, to the table. And while it’s anything but your booty shaking, one-hit wonder loving pop bandwagon music that our Western culture so often praises, this impressive milestone should be judged on its own individual excellence.

ALBUM RATING: 8/10

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Brandon Boyd – Mirror of Venus
Disclaimer: If you like the song, please support the artist and buy the track.

Music is either written well or badly. And in any case, Trapeze proves the latter is simply impossible for Boyd; whether he be flying solo or collaborating with his hotshot band of brothers who he has made unparalleled music with for only the last 19 years.

In this spotlight performance, Boyd takes the helm of everything music. He penned the entire 12 tracks in signature poetic style, laid down all the vocals, composed the melodies and audaciously picked up 98% of instruments. Although he’s no virtuoso, he is still an artist in true form vastly improving his art across an assortment of genres and musical equipment.

Clean and New Skin djembe playing days have evolved into infectious drum patterns heard in Dance While The Devil Sleeps. Pantomime bar-chords and Oil and Water guitar arrangements have both given birth to the rebellious, punchy, handclap accompanied guitar line in All Ears Avow! – an energetic, upbeat, attention demanding track that has the raddest, and at times Prince influenced, vocals. Suffice to say, Boyd is no shredding guru like band mate Mike Einziger. But he goes alright in acoustic medium as you would expect a non-lead guitarist to do and that’s okay.

In a similar manner to the past two Incubus albums, Boyd’s lyrical content in Trapeze has slowly retreated from passionate love cries in favour of an alarmist direction which highlights the infinite scores of problems plaguing our sick, sad screwed up world.

The opening title track sees Boyd getting country on a thick jumbo singing about the birds and the bees; urging to “Stand still! Like a hummingbird in flight”. It’s no surprise for Boyd to cook up some inspiringly philosophical lyrics. Through this apt Henry Miller reference, Boyd shares the blinding idea that too often we’re too busy to take time out of the rat race to notice that the honey we’re searching for is sitting right under our nose.

In Here Comes Everyone, Boyd calls upon the wisdom of Oscar Wilde: “Yeah, we’re all in the gutter. But some of us, yeah some of us, are looking at the stars”. The acoustic track coupled with rhetorical questions is Boyd’s reaction to the multitude of stagnant and complacent cynics in our youth culture today. It serves as a refreshing reminder to appreciate the good in the world amidst the bad. While we all start out with nothing, some of us dreamers have the ambition and willpower to reach a better place in life if we just try.

Meanwhile, back to the instruments. If noteworthy Incubus songs Punch Drunk, Echo, Admiration and the “pink tractor beam into your incision” Here in My Room are your audible sex, then Boyd’s shimmering Mirror of Venus is your orgasm. Likewise, this standout, emotionally-moving, golden track only ends too soon. In my humble opinion, its short ending is one of life’s greatest tragedies. On the other hand, undercooked is better than charred and I must give kudos to Mr Boyd for not milking this blissful 2m24s tune for every drop. He could have stretched the duration out too far and spoilt the song – something so many artists are tempted do these days which is severely frowned upon. Less is more, mmm hmm!

Another dreamy track, Last Night a Stranger features a soaring chorus over a remarkable stargaze melody which takes you on a motionless journey. First single Runaway Train is rather amazing to say the least and ripe with Boyd’s matchless acuity; the deep, intelligent, melodious lyrics and powerhouse C5 notes that leave you feeling wholeheartedly inspired.

Both motivational acoustic ballads A Night Without Cars and Courage and Control cover slow jam territory to a tee. While the tambourine, heavy bass driven Revenge of the Spectral Tiger also shares a slower tempo, the soothing percussion and big witty vocal notes are what really turns heads.

At the end of a promising Trapeze listen, it’s apparent that Boyd’s gifted vocals and lyrics are the focus of the album; which is what one could naturally expect from a lead singer/songwriter. In spite of this, Boyd embarking on a solo journey to create “music for music’s sake” has instigated the unravelling of a mature and distinctive sound separate to Incubus.

Boyd is one of the greatest rock vocalists since Freddie Mercury’s four octave scale and Jeff Buckley’s heroic use of range. So the fact that Trapeze is not spreading like wildfire is a testament to the lack of aesthetic value in our trend-inclined Western society. (The only exception is the solo success of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke).

By the same taken, Trapeze being ardently welcomed and heard by citizens around the globe whom appreciate intelligent, melodic music – while the rest of the world pick up the next Ke$ha album if they haven’t already bunny hopped onto the next fad – is the only bona fide measure of success.