Nice to Know You

This song opens Morning View with a sharp hit: Mike Einziger's guitar comes in like lightning and stays there, repeating a pattern that doesn't sound like a forced loop, but rather like natural breathing. José Pasillas' drums mark the beat with a precision that seems improvised, and Alex Katunich's bass —in his final recording with the band— weaves around Brandon Boyd's vocals like an echo that never quite fades away. It's not the kind of song that hits you right away: it's the one that catches you when you least expect it, when the chorus sneaks into your head and forces you to hum it without realizing. What surprises most is how the track holds together in a time signature that isn't the usual one: the main riff flows in a meter that feels like it's between 4/4 and 7/8, as if the song breathes to its own rhythm, neither rushed nor delayed.

They recorded it at Stern House, a hidden studio in Malibu, California, during the final months of 2001. Producer Scott Litt —known for his work with bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers— gave them space to keep the sound raw, without excessive retouching. The result was a single that hit the radio on December 4th of that year and climbed into the top 10 of the Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock charts, while also peaking at number 59 in Australia. The video, directed by Jeb Brien, captures the band live at the Bakersfield Convention Center on January 3, 2002, with Audiovent and Hoobastank as opening acts. But the oddest part is that, despite its success, the song wasn't the album's first single: that spot went to Wish You Were Here, which ended up being even more remembered. Morning View sold over two million copies and became Incubus' most successful album up to that point, though this particular track has always remained that song that plays on the radio without anyone asking why.