Album Review: Envy of None - Stygian Waves
Reviewed by Dan Barnes
This might seem a strange comment to make when reviewing an album that features such musical royalty as Alex Lifeson, Andy Curran and producer Alfio Annibalini, but the sophomore full-length album from Envy of None, Stij(ē)n Wāvz, is undoubtedly stolen by vocalist, Maiah Wynne.
If you’ve heard the 2022 self-titled debut, or the companion EP, That Was Then, released a year later, you’ll know that Evny of None – as redundant a band name as your likely to encounter – are all about the atmosphere, created by a less-is-more ethos and allowing the emotion of the music to dominate.
The huge experience and talent of the musicians involved in this project means from a compositional and execution point of view it’s flawless. Andy Curran, once of Canadian hard rockers, Coney Hatch, lays down a plethora of anchoring basslines, none of which dominate the fragility of the music on display, rather secure it in place. The solid harmonies on The Story and the more hard-edged and fatter lines of That was Then shows the scope of Andy’s work here.
Although usually found behind the mixing desk Alfio Annabalini, sometime producer of Sons of Otis and Voivod’s Negatron album, contributes additional guitar, keyboard and programming, keeping the atmosphere consistent throughout. Alex Lifeson should need no introduction, having spent forty-years as the longest member of one of the greatest bands of all time: Rush.
His guitar work is understated and, where he could cut loose, he refrains and allows the ambience to be the driving factor across the record.
Yet, with all that skill and experience, it’s the twenty-eight-year-old singer/ songwriter from Oregon who is the star of the show. Maiah Wynne has been cutting her musical teeth since she was in her teens, playing folk-infused Indie rock and taking inspiration from Radiohead, Norah Jones and Florence and the Machine, among others, across nine releases under her own name, up to last year’s Out of the Dark album.
Three of Stij(ē)n Wāvz’s eleven tracks have been available for advanced listening: Not Dead Yet takes a slow and laidback approach, layering in some infectious grooves and expressive keys; Under the Stars opens things up a little, utilising multilayered vocals and huge musical phrases which, although mammoth, never unsettle the fragility of the mood.
Closer, Stygian Waves, finds light and airy guitars adopting something of a middle eastern feel, as well as some electronics and, some of the album’s most aggressive moments.
Maiah’s soulful fragility infuses the jazzy infectious beats of Raindrops and the companion piece, Clouds, where her haunting vocals signify the start of an increasingly harsh climax. Book-ended by these two songs is New Trip, which features a western, sliding guitar and evokes a long journey through desert plains, with the promise of a something better waiting at the destination. A metaphor for life, quite possibly.
Thrill of the Chase comes in with an Eighties pop feel but opens up to be one of the record’s more interesting compositions; Handle with Care is low-key yet does not give in to the temptation of overplays things. Closer The End is probably to only place on Stij(ē)n Wāvz where Alex indulges himself, introducing a series of phrases which act as the confidant of Maiah’s emotive vocal.
Taking its name from Ovid’s Metamorphosis is about as heavy as Stij(ē)n Wāvz gets, though that is clearly not the point of the record. This is a journey of great emotional depth, orchestrated by players who know how to create mood and tension, and narrated by a stunning new talent.
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