A Crow Left of the Murder (2004)

Incubus' last record, 2001's expansive ''Morning View,'' showed promise, especially in the stunted nu-metal genre. But it's hard to decide what's worse about its follow-up: (a) singer Brandon Boyd's puerile, uninsightful rants against materialism, world disorder, and shallow celebrity culture; (b) his language in said rants, which suggests he took lessons in garbled lyric writing from Alanis Morissette (''On the tip of my tongue/An offensive is poised and rearing''?); or (c) the tuneless, torturously knotty prog-metal the band cranks out behind him. Come to think of it, the album title's not so hot either.