Incubus releases their lead single “Nimble Bastard” off their eighth album 8. It’s been six years since their last album If Not Now, When?, but they are back with a dynamic track and irreverent music video in which undercover French bulldogs are on a mission to sabotage Incubus’ video shoot. Then the band summons cat powers to defeat their nemesis.

The song itself is an ode to anyone who triumphs over difficulties. Guitarist Mike Einziger tells NME,  “It’s kind of a narrative about someone who overcomes the harshest of circumstances and always ends up landing on their feet. It’s a really fun and energetic song.”

Vocalist Brandon Boyd explains to Radio.com:

In the lyric for ‘Nimble Bastard,’ I’m in praise of someone. I’ve known a handful of people in my life who’ve come into the most horrific circumstances whether it’s physical injury or psychological or failure and they’ll be as low as you could possibly be and you’re like, ‘Dude, this guy’s done.’ And then somehow they pop back up and shake it off and then are more strong and resilient as a result. That is this nimble bastard that I’m in praise of.

In an interview with ABC News Radio, Boyd recalls the inspiration to the song’s title:

We were somewhere in England, and I overheard somebody say with a thick British accent, ‘Oh, you’re a nimble bastard, aren’t you?’ In the U.K., the word ‘bastard’ still really means ‘bastard,’ and it’s a bad word. They can’t play it on the radio ’cause it’s a bad word. And it’s ironic because I heard the term ‘nimble bastard’ in the U.K., that’s who taught it to me. And then now they’re throwing it back at us by saying, ‘We can’t play this, because this is a bad word!’

On the other hand, “Nimble Bastard” charted #7 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Songs. 8 will be released on April 21st. The album was produced by Skrillex. He and Deftones singer Chino Moreno also collaborated on an upcoming single from the album. Incubus is set to tour with Jimmy Eat World and will perform at Shoreline Amphitheatre on August 16th.