Incubus

At every step of their career, Southern California’s Incubus have consistently defined modern rock with their hard-edged, emotionally potent songs and ever-expanding styles. Formed in 1991 by Calabasas High School classmates Brandon Boyd, Mike Einziger and José Pasillas, the band took their earliest cues from funk rockers like Primus and Red Hot Chili Peppers. Their 1997 major-label debut, S.C.I.E.N.C.E., showcased Boyd’s Anthony Kiedis-like ability to throw down bars and croon over both hip-hop-inspired beats and frenetic riffing. But Incubus’ influences truly coalesced on 1999’s multi-platinum Make Yourself, which featured a wider-ranging sound exemplified by the turntable-scratched “Pardon Me” and atmospheric-grunge single “Stellar”. Since then, they’ve updated the power ballad for the post-nu-metal age with “Warning” and “Wish You Were Here”, took on politics with 2004’s psychedelic-leaning A Crow Left of the Murder…, and worked with EDM superstar Skrillex on 2017’s 8. With three decades under their belt, Incubus have yet to stop seeking out new musical frontiers, showing a talent to absorb the styles and sounds of the moment and translate them into songs that are unmistakably their own.