When Incubus [ tickets ] emerged in the late '90s, they sounded like Pearl Jam to the next alternative-rock level, replete with DJ scratching, white-boy pseudo-rapping and a virtuoso guitarists' rabid fretwork. But something happened over the course of five albums. By their sixth and latest release, "Light Grenades," the group has evolved into a taut, pop-rock outfit.

"Love Hurts" and "Dig" are shimmery and clean--this is straightforward stuff with likeable everyman singer Brandon Boyd in the spotlight. Indeed, his populist lyrics should invite more of the mainstream into Incubus' tent. "We all have something that digs at us," he sings on "Dig."

Moments like this, which emerge throughout "Light Grenades," give Incubus a mainstream sound that the band pulls off--even at the risk of losing its tougher edge. Nowhere is this struggle more palpable than on the strange, schizophrenic "Earth to Bella (Part 1)," a song that toggles between sweet, accessible melody and sheer, dissonant noise.

Elsewhere, the old Incubus surfaces on tracks like "Oil and Water" and through the funk boogie of "Rogues," with Boyd announcing, "Hats off and applause to rogues and revolution!"

"Light Grenades" is hardly the smash its name suggests. Instead, Incubus is holding onto its youthful edge while working extra hard at writing accessible, melodic, pop rock. It's an effort best summed up by lyrics from its closing track, "Earth to Bella (Part 2)": "You're treading water successfully/But are you really?"