Envy has been a significant part of the Japanese post hardcore and screamo scenes for the better part of thirty years, initially starting off in a similar vein to some of the bands in the genre on the other side of the world before adapting post rock and other sweeping instrumentation into their songwriting. In 2018 they went through some significant lineup changes, which briefly seemed like they might completely unravel and mark the end of the band, but instead they emerged in 2020 with The Fallen Crimson. This album showcased the new incarnation of Envy had just as much to say as in their earlier days, and the combination of expansive melodies and more direct aggressive numbers left a strong impression. Four years on from that album, the group has returned with Eunoia and once again made significant changes. Coming in close to twenty minutes shorter than its predecessor, this is a more compact and direct take that recalls Envy’s earlier days while still capturing the soaring post rock of their more recent work. It does take a bit to get going, but once the album finds its footing it offers powerful and impactful moments.
Considering a good portion of Envy’s discography has hovered around the hour mark, Eunoia’s brevity is likely to come as a surprise for fans. But the shorter length gives the band a more direct and compact feel that may have made some of their prior work daunting to newcomers, and they do their best to balance their harsher, emotional outbursts and warmer atmosphere within these self-imposed confines. What initially stood out to me is the way that several of the tracks work together, as opener “Piecemeal” spends its time exploring softer, muted textures that transition seamlessly into the more explosive “Imagination and Creation”. But after that fast-paced flurry of aggressive yet brighter riffing and pounding drums, things shift over to the softer end of the spectrum for a little while. “The Night and the Void” and “Beyond the Raindrops” both lean into the post rock side, building from sparser melodies into fuller peaks but doing so in shorter timespans than is typical for the band. Both these tracks are likable and have some interesting nuances, but I found it was the run from “Whiteout” until the end of the album that really brought this material to life for me. “Whiteout” is one of the most intense pieces on Eunoia, as it moves by at a brisk pace and has instrumentation that has the more angular transitions of post hardcore but also wraps it in a metallic sheen. “Lingering Light” and “Lingering Echoes” are another set of songs that tie together, as the former has hints of electronics to its rhythms and sets the stage with moodier guitar work while the latter has a haunting lead that gets under your skin from the first listen. It’s an effective example of how powerful and emotional Envy’s instrumentation can be, and up there with some of the best in their discography. “January’s Dusk” opts to finish things on a brighter and cheerful note, flipping back to the post rock, but there’s something about the way the layers build that prove a bit more effective than some of the other dips into this sound earlier on.
Tetsuya Fukagawa’s role in Envy has played a pivotal part in the impact their music has on listeners, and this continues to be the case on Eunoia. His approach often falls somewhere between spoken word, singing, and screaming, and it’s delivered in a way that makes the group more unique when compared to some of the other long-running acts in the genre. The first appearance on “Piecemeal” is somber spoken word, but “Imagination and Creation” shifts over to emotional screaming and singing that soars over the recording. On tracks like “The Night and the Void” they come through closer to a whisper until close to the end where they build to a distorted scream that towers above the layers of sound. There’s a nice balance between raw displays of emotions and singing that has a noticeably brighter and cheerier tone to it, and the performance on Eunoia is as strong as ever. Unfortunately, I don’t have any lyric translations available at the time of review so I can’t dive deeper into this side of Envy’s music, but the performance alone still has plenty to draw listeners in.
The lush soundscapes and atmospheric side has always differentiated Envy from some of the other screamo and post hardcore bands out there, and they’ve transformed their established sound into something a bit more direct and compact on Eunoia. Even at half an hour there are still a lot of small details and unexpected transitions, and while a few of the songs on the first half didn’t fully grab me the strength of the hooks on the second half make this an incredible listen. It may not quite be their best, but it’s exciting to hear Envy trying different things and there’s plenty here to excite fans and newcomers alike. Eunoia is available from Temporary Residence Ltd.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg
