If Not Now, When?
by Incubus
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Jul 12, 2011
User Score
6.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 63 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 63
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 63
  3. Negative: 11 out of 63
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  1. deviant24x
    Aug 17, 2011
    2
    As a fan of Incubus from way back in the Fungus Amongus/ Enjoy Incubus days, this album came as a huge disappointment. Simplistic, Pop-ish, and seemingly dedicated to appealing to tweens, Incubus has taken a huge step backwards here. Instead of producing a BAND album, "If Not Now When" centers the band's musical efforts around Brandon Boyd's singing on top of simplistic pop tunes;As a fan of Incubus from way back in the Fungus Amongus/ Enjoy Incubus days, this album came as a huge disappointment. Simplistic, Pop-ish, and seemingly dedicated to appealing to tweens, Incubus has taken a huge step backwards here. Instead of producing a BAND album, "If Not Now When" centers the band's musical efforts around Brandon Boyd's singing on top of simplistic pop tunes; resulting in bland, radio friendly trash. Not the challenging musical journey I would have hoped for from Incubus. Until now, I have liked to varying degrees all of Incubus' albums, because without exception they showed the musicality and versatility of all of the band members. This album is mostly just the crooning of Brandon Boyd over vanilla pop rock. Some will defend this album and proclaim that Incubus should be lauded for "taking risks" and going outside of their standard musical fare. If what the band produced was new and innovative I might agree, but the reality is that this album is crap.… Expand
  2. wpspicer
    Jul 20, 2011
    2
    Bleh. This album confirms what a lot of people have been speculating for many years: Incubus is not the band it used to be. There is a large following of listeners who have been dying for a taste of the S.C.I.E.N.C.E days, or even a little morsel of Make Yourself. Not only does Brandon Boyd and co. further distance themselves from those early records and innovative sound, they haveBleh. This album confirms what a lot of people have been speculating for many years: Incubus is not the band it used to be. There is a large following of listeners who have been dying for a taste of the S.C.I.E.N.C.E days, or even a little morsel of Make Yourself. Not only does Brandon Boyd and co. further distance themselves from those early records and innovative sound, they have launched them into orbit. What we have here is a dull and uninspiring batch of songs aimed to get the female 13-30 demographic excited. Whereas previously we would get a wonderful set of songs showcasing the talented band members, with a few toned-down numbers sprinkled in; we now have eleven tracks of lameness. I certainly don't need rehashed versions of "A Certain Shade of Green", or "Circles", but what I do need is some freakin' rock 'n roll!… Expand
  3. himlen_i_bla
    Oct 9, 2012
    2
    As a huge Incubus fan, I tried really hard to like this album. Really, really hard. And I understand the idea of "evolving" or changing styles as a band. I've liked that Incubus has striven to do something new on every album. But there's a difference in changing and regressing, which is what Incubus did for this one. On every previous album, listeners can sense the amount of effort andAs a huge Incubus fan, I tried really hard to like this album. Really, really hard. And I understand the idea of "evolving" or changing styles as a band. I've liked that Incubus has striven to do something new on every album. But there's a difference in changing and regressing, which is what Incubus did for this one. On every previous album, listeners can sense the amount of effort and creativity the band spent on writing their music. Even if their music style changed, one could still appreciate the music for its complexity and, for the most part, originality. However, on "If Not Now, When?," the majority of the songs are mind-numbingly simplistic and bland. Some of the songs may even start out promising, or may have a short lick of something that sounds experimental or complex, but they then reduce down to a soft pop/ easy listening rhythm and style, reminiscent of vapid, easily-forgotten radio tunes from the 80s and 90s. To put it simply, this album was not only a disappointment, but a complete shock to fans who expect so much more from this band. I usually judge disappointing new albums from my favorite bands from a perspective that they may be, for example, "Incubus bad," or "Tool bad," meaning that they're not best quality of music put out by that particular band, but the music is still better than the majority of music out there. Unfortunately, this album was just plain bad.… Expand
  4. firebry21
    Apr 7, 2012
    3
    Incubus' attempt to break out of their self-imposed genre is a complete and utter failure. Instead of remaining true to their unique sound, hard-driving guitar and bass, and emphasizing the talents of Brandon Boyd, they tried to do something different and were utterly inept at doing so. The title song and Friends and Lovers were sadly lacking in depth and catchiness. No song on this albumIncubus' attempt to break out of their self-imposed genre is a complete and utter failure. Instead of remaining true to their unique sound, hard-driving guitar and bass, and emphasizing the talents of Brandon Boyd, they tried to do something different and were utterly inept at doing so. The title song and Friends and Lovers were sadly lacking in depth and catchiness. No song on this album begs to be remembered and sung along with. Incubus is an incredible band, with talent bursting out of the seams, but this album was severely disappointing to me, who has been a fan for over a decade. They need to recapture the glory and depth of Morning View and throw in the masterful lyrics of Light Grenades. That should be their next attempt. If you like Incubus as much as I do, it's worth a listen. A few of the later tracks are definitely worth your while including Switchblade and Adolescents which capture the sound of earlier Incubus albums.… Collapse
  5. cheapycheep
    Jun 11, 2013
    3
    I possibly wouldn't have had such an issue with this album if they had renamed them self as something else, as this just isn't incubus. but without just pointing out what we already know to be an obvious change in direction, this album would have been poor whoever wrote it. Although the album is nice and melodic at times, this just helps to expose the fairly poor lyrics of Brandon Boyd.I possibly wouldn't have had such an issue with this album if they had renamed them self as something else, as this just isn't incubus. but without just pointing out what we already know to be an obvious change in direction, this album would have been poor whoever wrote it. Although the album is nice and melodic at times, this just helps to expose the fairly poor lyrics of Brandon Boyd. Friends and lovers is the lowest point on the album, incubus haven't matured into a new direction they have just appealed to their fan base that liked them because of Brandon's good looks. I would say Brandon has a very good singing voice, but this album is bland, pretty much the whole way through.… Expand
  6. augustobt
    May 7, 2018
    3
    This album is perfectly summarized by a couple of words: erectile dysfunction.

    This is the lyrically cheapest album Incubus' ever wrote and poor melodies to suit them. Seems more like a continuation of Brandon Boyd's previous Solo record. It's one of my personal biggest disappointments in music. This album is pretty much dead, 'unenergetic', with pretty much no upsides whatsoever.    This album is perfectly summarized by a couple of words: erectile dysfunction.

    This is the lyrically cheapest album Incubus' ever wrote and poor melodies to suit them. Seems more like a continuation of Brandon Boyd's previous Solo record. It's one of my personal biggest disappointments in music. This album is pretty much dead, 'unenergetic', with pretty much no upsides whatsoever. Adolescents, the first single, seemed like the band was covering themselves, but after the record is released you see it was actually one of the only different songs of the disc.

    Friends and Lovers and Isadore sound 100% like Brandon Boyd solo work. The self-titled track and Tomorrow's food - the opening and closing of the record - are some of the worst tracks I've ever had the displeasure of listening to, coming from a band that was always known how to proper open and close their LPs.

    Disappointing, to say the least.    … Expand
  7. Lanxturn
    Sep 9, 2022
    2
    Zzzzz…..zzzzz…zzzz…..HUH?? Oh yeah, sorry fell asleep writing this review, kinda the same as how i did listening to this album. Yes, I am not the biggest alt rock fanatic you’ll find but still, this was an absolute slog to get through. And I had to listen to 80 songs in 2 days and that was less of a slog then this 11 song slog fest. if you like it then, eh, I guess you like it…. As for me,Zzzzz…..zzzzz…zzzz…..HUH?? Oh yeah, sorry fell asleep writing this review, kinda the same as how i did listening to this album. Yes, I am not the biggest alt rock fanatic you’ll find but still, this was an absolute slog to get through. And I had to listen to 80 songs in 2 days and that was less of a slog then this 11 song slog fest. if you like it then, eh, I guess you like it…. As for me, no. Boring, slow, unoriginal, and plain.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

53
#53 Most Discussed Album of 2011

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
48

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
  1. AllMusic
    Dec 6, 2011
    70
    The end result is an album on a shaded, comfortable grayscale, music that's suitably mature yet sidesteps stultifying notions of middlebrow class.
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  2. Kerrang!
    Jul 29, 2011
    20
    If Not Now, When? is the work of a group who in their attempts to sound all grown-up come across as being worn-down and played out. [16 Jul 2011, p.50]
  3. PopMatters
    Jul 28, 2011
    40
    They're no longer teetering on the edge anymore; with this record, Boyd and Co. just fell hard.
    Read full review
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