Review: The Envy

By Stephen Morris
Website contributor

The Envy come from Winchcombe

Say what you like about The Envy: they're a hard working band.

Not long after reviewing them I was contacted by them with a list of new songs that they have recorded.

Well, I say new: one of them is a cover of an Abba song. But you get what I mean.

Two for the price of one

This is music that has been designed, first and foremost, to rock out to. And The Envy do this well. Stephen Morris

In my last review of The Envy back in April of this year I observed that The Envy "could easily be two bands rolled into one".

There was a distinct English Indie sound on the one hand and a clear American Punk sound on the other.

The five songs mentioned in my previous article are still available on the band's MySpace page, but they have now been accompanied by a further five tracks.

In these new songs it is clear which of the styles have won the musical tug of war: America's skate punk sounds have trounced the lighter English Indie sound. Perhaps that was only inevitable.

Dancing teens

The Mamma Mia cover (yes, you read correctly: that's the 'Mamma Mia' cover) is a fun sounding cover of an old classic.

It's pretty much exactly how you might imagine Green Day covering the song. It's not particularly big or clever, but it does the job.

The other four songs are original tracks that further profile the band's love of music from across the pond.

Two of the songs may share names with British acts (Blur and Plan B) but their sound is distinctly American (albeit topped off with a Bono-esque snarl in the vocal department).

The lyrics are less concerned with moving on, compared to those found on their initial outing, but a certain amount of restlessness remains.

Plan B opens with the frustrated "I can't have these feelings inside of my mind" while the title of last song 'I don't give a ****' probably speaks for itself.

Guitar heroes

If you are looking for any depths or insights into the frailties of the human condition, you may be better placed looking elsewhere.

The lyrics you will find here are brief. Often rather than giving us a new verse, The Envy would be much happier giving us a repeat of the first (and only) one.

Why bother writing lyrics when better time can be spent devising pounding drum rhythms, creating scorching hot guitar parts and perfecting the pre-requisite rock star snarl?

This is music that has been designed, first and foremost, to rock out to. And The Envy do this well.

It's not the most original sound on the planet, but I don't suppose that's really such a bad thing.

Self assured

Aside from some clumsy drumming which sends Lady veering all over the place, this is a self assured selection of tracks from The Envy. No doubt there will be more to follow.

The band have a fun sound guaranteed to thrill a live audience.

Hearing them on your computer is one thing, but seeing them live, well, that's going to be a different thing all together.