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Blotto
Singles Collection 2004-2007 |
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Tracklist |
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01 - Further Ahead of Warp
02 - Shield of Selflessness
03 - Scene
04 - Crystallize
05 - The Unknown Glow
06 - Night in Winter
07 - A Warm Room |
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Review |
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Envy have been a lot of bands over the past 15 years: Envy the unassuming punk band (Breathing and Dying in This Place), Envy the melodic hardcore band (From Here to Eternity), Envy the vicious dissonant metalcore band (The Eyes of Single Eared Prophet), the soaring screamo band (All the Footprints You've Ever Left and the Fear Expecting Ahead), and finally, the epic post-rock monster they have threatened to be since 2003's A Dead Sinking Story. These trends in style from record to record have not been hasty or arbitrary but gradual and natural, like looking at a series of childhood photos; the look may change as they age, but they're always recognizable.
The number one instantaneous tip-off that you're listening to any Envy record has always been the unmistakable shriek of lead singer Tetsuya Fukugawa. Over the span of 4 albums, a handful of EPs and a multitude of split releases his vocals have always been the lightning rod at the center of Envy's sound. It's a combination of patient, measured spoken word and pure flayed-throat screaming that leave it a wonder he has any voice at all after a decade and a half of such constant vocal chord torture. Insomniac Doze is no different from any previous Envy material in this regard, but it also happens to be the band's first record where Tetsu's screaming could be considered a drawback rather than a strength. Following up on the elements of post-rock in their last full-length A Dead Sinking Story, Envy settles into their slowest and most serene material yet. Which makes it a good thing that Fukugawa at least has the forbearance to ease off on the screaming until the most intense sections of each track. In addition to being too overbearing for the relatively laid-back verses of these songs, his shrieking patterns simply sound stagnant after so many years of repetition.
Musically, the band lumbers like never before. The change in speed is perhaps the clearest shift in style for Insomniac Doze. While A Dead Sinking Story found Envy trying out crushing mid-tempo rhythms as an alternative to the breakneck pace of All the Footprints, here the group has abandoned the speedy punk rhythms of their past entirely, leaving only two flavors behind: slow and quiet, and slow and loud. On the one hand, it's hard to blame them for wanting to slow it down and relax (somewhat). The members of Envy are all well into their 30s, and have likely been thrashing their asses off since they were teens. It's impossible to expect them to have the drive and endurance to continue the blazing punk speed they once had. On the other hand, it's easy to knock them for not bringing in the creativity that could have easily made up for the loss in kinetic energy and spontaneity.
While it's undeniable that Insomniac Doze is the most melodic and gorgeous Envy album to date, the absence of the speed and musical agility, like the drawing back of a veil, reveals a disappointing simplicity. Previously the urgency and nimble pace of the rhythm section provided the base that lent the band's melodies their power. This, underscored with the humbler expectations of the punk formula they sprang from, was what made Envy special, and now that they have surrendered themselves to the sound of the latest wave of epic post-rock, they will need something extra to maintain a special place among their peers. Out of the 7 tracks on Insomniac Doze, only the album's 15-minute centerpiece "The Unknown Glow" contains the sort of dramatic grit and brilliance characterized in older songs like "Reasons and Oblivion" and "Left Hand," but it's still stuck with a total-waste-of-time 3-minute intro and unnecessarily long build up. "Shield of Selflessness," easily the shortest song on the record, packs the most punch for its length but sounds like a tired retread of A Dead Sinking Story.
Given that Insomniac Doze seems to fit in perfectly among the works of Envy's new North American label-mates on longtime post-rock mainstay Temporary Residence Limited, it would be easy for cynics to suggest that they are eager to share the worldwide success of Mono, another Japanese band with a penchant for excess (and unlike Envy, have not changed a whit over 3 entire albums). And while time will tell how they stack up against the likes of Mono and Explosions in the Sky, it seems clear that this latest record and home will find them a wider audience than ever before. Envy has followed a pattern of albums in which they make the best of their past while spreading roots toward a new future, with each successive output standing firm on its own strengths while hinting at an unexplored direction. As the band grows ever older, Insomniac Doze is the first record that sounds like a complete destination rather than a simple transit point, and we can only hope it does not signal the end of their creative journey. |
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