Morning View is the fourth studio album by American rock band Incubus, released October 22, 2001, through Epic Records.

[8] Former bassist Alex Katunich (aka "Dirk Lance") noted that the band had previously "tried to do that for at least the writing portion of Make Yourself, but we didn't have enough clout at the time.

'"[9] In a December 2001 interview, guitarist Mike Einziger talked about the decision to live and record in a house rather than in a conventional studio setting.

"[10] "Drive", the band's final single from their prior album Make Yourself, was released in late 2000 and started gaining popularity by the time Incubus moved into the house to record Morning View.

After the success of Make Yourself, Brandon Boyd started attaining popularity among female listeners, and would begin to take his shirt off for them during concerts.

He was labelled as "MTV's newest weapon of mass heartbreak" and included on Teen People's list of "The Hottest Guys in Music" in 2001.

In an interview with Spin shortly after the release of Morning View, it was noted that Boyd was "always getting chased by girls" as a child, before even forming Incubus.

[14] Around the making of the album, Mike Einziger also composed the rock and funk-based soundtrack for the comedy film Sol Goode, which was eventually released in early 2003.

"[9] The final song, "Aqueous Transmission", employs the use of Chinese instruments such as the pipa and features a Japanese-style orchestra led by multi-instrumentalist Suzie Katayama.

[23] An alternative music video would end up being made for the song shortly afterwards, as the original version was deemed to be mirroring the September 11 attacks.

They were also invited to play Moby's Area:One Festival alongside the likes of Outkast, The Roots, Paul Oakenfold, Carl Cox, and Nelly Furtado.

DJ Chris Kilmore told Billboard in November 2001, "we’re taking the stand that we’re not going to let some idiot who just wants to kill everybody affect our lives.

[26] For the remainder of February and March, the group performed throughout Australia, New Zealand and Japan again as part of their "Pacific Tour", this time playing at a larger number of venues in these countries.

[27] While in Australia, they also shot the video for "Warning" in Sydney,[22] and played on the Rove Live talk show in Melbourne for a second time, having earlier appeared on the program in 2001.

Bassist Nicole Row (already touring in his place during his cancer treatment) was promoted to a full-time member, and played on Morning View XXIII.

[37] Rolling Stone wrote in their November 2001 review, "for a new-metal band competing in a field of alpha males with pierced, sloping brows, the supple, even delicate Incubus have an awful lot of yin in their yang.

Unlike Staind, who require a suspension of disbelief that they are, essentially, macho crybabies, and Crazy Town, who probably tinge their mook-hop with Orientalism so they can score with Asian strippers, the coolest thing about Incubus is the way they come front-and-center with their inner little girl.

"[5] Sean Adams of Drowned in Sound awarded it a 9 out of 10 on November 21, 2001, writing, "the really special bit, is the typical heart-throb frontman, Brandon Boyd.

"[48] AllMusic's Deren Svendsen awarded it a similarly high score of four-and-a-half out of five stars, noting, "the ratio of softer and mellower numbers have increased dramatically, to the point where hardcore fans of earlier material may be bewildered.

"[38] He adds, "while it may not appeal to fans of the harder material, music lovers who like their rock a little less aggressive and a little more ambitious and, well, sensitive should give Morning View a spin.

"[38] Dylan P. Gadino of CMJ New Music Monthly compared the album to Faith No More and Linkin Park in November 2001, still considering it to have the same metallic undertone of previous releases.

He writes, "on Morning View, the group's third major label album, Boyd and company continue their journey into the metal mystic, guided by familiar cascading chord progressions and ethereal-to-plump dynamic sensibilities.

"[49] However, he did note a higher number of acoustic songs, observing that, "Morning View shows a softer Incubus, yet it also affirms the group as being visionary among today's hard rockers.

"[49] Daily Nexus writer Jessica Jardine had a more negative view of the band's new direction, remarking in November 2001, "the release of the mushy-gushy single 'Wish You Were Here' became an ominous harbinger of the kinder, fuzzier Incubus to come.

Without skipping a beat, that’s just what Morning View delivers – into the waiting palms of pre-teen girls everywhere", adding that "the semi-charged 'Have You Ever' and 'Under My Umbrella' remind me of S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

"[41] Mikael Wood of the Dallas Observer wrote that Morning View is "an unapologetically flowery record", adding that it "wraps the angular, hard-edged funk-metal the band made in the early '90s in a silvery wash of acoustic-guitar strumming, vaguely Eastern ambience, SoCal surfer beatitude and Lilith Fair-friendly sensitive-male empathy.

"[51] On March 1, 2003, Einziger, along with Scott Litt, Dave Holdredge, and Rick Will, were nominated for a Grammy in the "Best Engineered Album (Non Classical)" category, for their work on Morning View.

They add, "the California-dreamy riffs and gentle beats of 2001's Morning View gave modern rock radio an even fresher kick.

Plus, lead singer Brandon Boyd's perennially exposed abs (the group's unofficial sixth member) inspired hordes of 12-year-old girls to discover what 'Aqueous Transmission' means.

[35] They simultaneously announced a concert at the Hollywood Bowl where they would perform Morning View in full, supported by Paris Jackson and Action Bronson, for the same day.