The Envy Corps
It Culls You
Self-Released
2011
It was a long time coming - three years since their last full-length, with only one EP in between - but Iowa's The Envy Corps have finally returned with their third LP, It Culls You, available digitally now with physical releases in October.
The good news is the band has used the long hiatus to craft a worthy successor to 2008's Dwell, one of my favorite records of that year. It Culls You is generally more atmospheric, more electronic, and moodier than Dwell, but it's almost as impressive.
As much as it pains me to admit it, the band's Radiohead influence cannot be ignored. Right from the first track's sparse opening beats, comparisons to the overrated rock gods can be made. Lead singer Luke Pettipoole's voice even flutters and wails similarly to Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke's, albeit higher pitched.
Unlike Radiohead, however, The Envy Corps don't have the same pretentious attitude, vaguely comprehensible lyrics, or melodies so indistinct they can hardly be called melodies at all. Indeed, It Culls You drips with beautiful harmonies on songs such as the opener "Make It Stop", which throbs with electronic beats accented by funky bass pops, and the stunning "Palace on Stilts". Slow and somber tunes like "In The Summer" and "Give It (All) Up" are as much standouts as faster, funkier ones like "Mrs. Hospital Corners" and its distorted guitars, or the remarkable basswork of "Command+Q".
The album culminates with the suite-like "Fools (How I Survived You & Even Laughed)", and its second part, "Fools, Pt. II (Bow)". At over nine minutes, the first song runs through several movements itself, from quiet guitars and percussion to its explosive finale, before "Part II" ends the album on a more introspective note in the form of a ballad with myriad electronic flourishes.
The only weak links in the chain are "Dipsomania", whose repetive bassline wears out its welcome quickly, but is salvaged by its bombastic fills, and "Everyone's Trying To Find You", whose soft-spoken beauty is somewhat undermined by synthesized horn samples. Neither track is enough to derail the album entirely, but they do slow it down a bit.
It Culls You was well worth the wait, and contains some of the best material the band has recorded to date. The unforgettable second half of "Make It Stop", the outstanding choruses in "Mrs. Hospital Corners", the well-placed and subtle synthesized strings in "In The Summer" - it all adds up to another great record from a band that deserves more recognition than simply being labeled another Radiohead knock-off.
Looking for some time this CD.I think I got all the blogs in a row looking.
Posted by: Alexander | September 11, 2011 at 10:37 AM