Envy Of None – That Was Then, This Is Now
Origin: USA / Canada
Release: 09.06.2022
Label: Kscope Music
Duration: 21:24
Genre: Alternative Rock / Shoegaze
Foto Credit: Richard Sibbald
Almost a year ago the All-Star project released Envy Of Nonewhose most famous face is certainly the former Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson represents, their self-titled debut album and presented a modern and emotional alternative rock with breathy vocals and an equally soulful guitar playing of a Lifeson.
Now the next sign of life from the bustling quartet appears in the form of an EP That Was Then, This Is Now, on CD, vinyl and digital. In and of itself, this is gratifying. Unfortunately, the novelties among the five songs are limited. Really new That Was Thenyou HERE can hear and comes across as quite catchy. The other four songs are more or less old acquaintances. Lethe River and You’ll Be Sorry are bonus tracks on the deluxe edition of the debut album, so lean on its style and justify the purchase of the EP if you bought a regular version of the album.
The novelties are limited
Dog’s Life and Dumb are also old acquaintances, but have been provided with an alternative mix for the EP, which gives the songs even more electronic colors and incorporates a clearer Industrial note. Both worked better as a pop rock song in the original.
It’s a bit of a shame that this promising combo’s new vital sign is pretty slim. The only new track is quite nice, but only partially justifies a purchase. The two bonus songs from the album upgrade the whole thing. However, whether one is willing to pay a full-time price for the given few songs is something everyone has to decide for themselves.
Conclusion
As much as I like the debut album by Envy Of None like and as much as I like the life’s work of Alex Lifeson pay my respects, two good old songs, one new and two passable remixes That Was Then are a positive sign of life and a pointer to the future, but they are quite lonely on their own. Therefore extremely benevolent 7 / 10
Line Up
Alf Annibalini – guitars, keyboards, programming
Andy Curran – bass, programming, guitars, backing vocals, stylophones
Alex Lifeson – guitars, mandola, banjo, programming
Maiah Wynne – vocals, backing vocals, keyboards
Tracklist
01. Lethe River
02. You’ll Be Sorry
03. Dog’s Life (Remix)
04. Dumb (The Dumb Remix)
05. That Was Then
Links
Facebook Envy Of None
Website Envy Of None
Also on Soundmagnet.eu
Album Review – Envy Of None – Envy Of None
Interview – Commando, asked by Aron Torstensson and Robin Bidgoli
Column – All that you can do is wish them well – an obituary for Neil Peart
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