Envy
"Insomniac Doze" CD
Temporary
Residence Limited
Genres: hardcore
November 2006 |
First some history. Though they've put out an album and an odds collection since, 2001's
All The Footprints You've Ever Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead
is the only record of Envy's that I've heard - and boy is it a
doozy. Perhaps the most expressively vicious album in my collection,
it has taken a strong presence in my musical repertoire - something
notable as I'm not a big follower of hardcore or what have you.
Anyhow, flash forward to now: I'm holding Envy's latest,
Insomniac Doze, brought to me courtesy of classy imprint Temporary
Residence, Ltd. Yep, the folks who brought us Rumah Sakit,
Explosions in the Sky, and Cerberus Shoal. The main string
binding these bands stylistically? Epicness. Like the others,
Insomniac Doze is an incredibly epic work of music; not just
fifteen minute "The unknown glow" or ten minute "Crystallize," but
even the shorter works. The key lies in Envy's dark, bass-heavy
sound, in their dramatic builds and drops, in the intense passion
these five folks have for their music. To the unaccustomed ear, a lot
of this is going to sound a touch homogeneous, but attention yields
results. Envy tend to brood menacingly before launching into
explosive, strangely melodic hardcore - lengthy "The Unknown Glow" is
a perfect example of this. An over three minute build-up erupts into
heartfelt, bleak-yet-hopeful chaos. After all that noise, we get to
the eye of the storm, an unbearably moving rise towards the brutal
climax. That is the story epitomized with Insomniac Doze, a
monumental record that builds and breaks with no apologies. From start
to (amazing) finish, this is a very solid release. I can't comment on
the lyrics, since they're all in Japanese, but I assume the public
version will come with translated lyrics like their previous work.
Hardcore fans unaware of Envy need to pay attention now.
mp3s (from temporaryresidence.com):
further ahead of warp
88%
Fun Fact: Envy's lead
singer, Tetsuya Fukagawa, appeared on Mogwai's Mr. Beast
album.
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 7 tracks, 57:51,
distributed by
the label,
released 2006] |
