Eleven years ago, Incubus released their debut album, Enjoy Incubus and on July 11, they released what is now their seventh album, If Not Now, When?.

The new album is quite a departure from the bands Megalomaniac days, boasting complex instrumentals, profound lyrics, and maturity. Take a few broken promises, some true love, betrayal, confusion, admiration, and revelation, and you’ve got an album deeper than most or almost anything Incubus has released in the past.

The album features poetic, story-like lyrics that address topics that, regardless of our age, we never really grow out of. In many cases, it’s the lyrics that make the songs stand out. The single “ Promises, Promises” features an instrumental that isn’t anything beyond the typical rock lick. It’s the lyrics that sets it apart. “Promise me only one thing, would you? Don’t ever make me promises. No promises,” Boyd sings with incredible sincerity. In just one line, Incubus is able to sum up the confusion and mixed emotions related to betrayal; the inability to believe in someone, no matter how badly you want to. That alone makes the song worth hitting the replay button.

The band makes up for the occasional generic instrumentals with songs like “Friends and Lovers” and the title single “If Not Now, When?”. Heavy, rustic drums and strings prove to be refreshing and relaxing to listen to. Even the casual acoustic guitar, upbeat ballad single “Defiance”, although a style done many times before by the band, is excellence. Why fix it, if it isn’t broke?

Incubus gives Taylor Swift a run for her money with the single “Isadore,” the rock ballad version of “Better than Revenge.”  But, this band is naming names, and “won’t rest until the world knows the name Isadore.” Yet surprisingly, as vengeful as this song may be, it’s the no-barriers approach the album takes that keeps it on repeat.

I did almost reach for the stop button, though, when I came upon “In the Company of Wolves.” The song, for one, is almost eight minutes long, as if it is such a work of art, it just couldn’t be tamed. However, it was almost as though two entirely different songs had been pieced together in a desperate attempt to save some money. At the halfway point, the band abruptly switches from a ballad, to an eerie, out of the box, ominous tune. If  “Amazing Grace” and Blue October combined, we would find ourselves “In the Company of Wolves.” This is one collaboration I can do without.

Overall, If Not Now, When? is a solid album. Not only has this talented band stuck around for the tomorrow, but the day after too.