Envy have been active now for over thirty years. In their new album they impart with us some of the wisdom they have gained in their lengthy career. 
Euonia is a device used in rhetoric to persuade an audience into a well balanced way of thinking. Through the album Envy take us on a journey of breaking free of the binary thinking of life’s ups and downs, and the accompanying pressure of time we might feel in which to compartmentalise them.

Lyrically there is a theme of waiting for things to get better even when you feel you just exist as a shell, and an inference of this feeling being a constant, it comes and goes, but is just a part of the balancing act we all experience through our lives. 
We explore the idea that there cannot be light without the dark, and that the opposite is also true. There is an almost desperate sense of longing evoked through the album intonated by its breakdowns, riffs, drawn melodies arousing bittersweet emotions similar to those elicited by the likes of Explosions in the Sky or Mogwai.

The opening track ‘Piecemeal’ presents a crescendoing guitar leading to a sense of serenity tinged with sadness accompanied by spoken word through which the idea of eternal recurrence of both joy and sorrow, their intertwinedness, and hope are introduced.

‘Imagination and Creation’ then plunges into blast beats and ripping vocals inviting us back to the here and now. Through a juxtaposition of a major key melody, scorching vocals, and poetry we contemplate the passage of time, and the presence of feeling. The changing time signatures create both a sense of urgency and ask us to hold space. 
‘The Night and the Void’ summons a pained loneliness through slow acoustic melodies. The line ‘Adding colours to life to fill it up, illuminated by lights while still wet in the rain’ encompasses the burning rumination brought forth by Fukagawa’s coarse dissonant cries. We are left with a sense of peace as the percussion ends and reflect the final verse asking us to accept a grey change and all that comes with it as we are lulled by the closing bars. 
‘Beyond the Raindrops’ powerful shoegaze breaks create a wash of heartrending catharsis asking us to look through the pain, though not for happiness, but acceptance.

‘Whiteout’ treats us to a punctuation of the classic Evny sound, with punchy guitars breaking through cacophonous drumming. Recalling the post-hardcore sound the band are known best for they initially orchestrate a manic and chaotic landscape through which we are asked to examine internal conflict, and persist, using anxiety, exhaustion and sorrow.   

‘Lingering Light’ opens with discordant synth, electronic drums and flat vocal intonation which devolves into a droning downward spiral at the beginning of ‘Lingering Echoes’. However, there is a subtle and gradual key change providing uplift, though the chaos still reigns. This is reflected lyrically, particularly in the line ‘wearing a jet-black jacket, stuffing a white notebook in my bag’, we acknowledge the idea of wearing sadness as a protective measure, and hiding the light or hope we might have. The two songs provide the nadir of the album’s narrative. Your heart feels as if it is being pulled toward the ground, but you are left with a sense of hope leading into the final song. 
‘January’s Dusk’ the album’s outgoing message of hope and acceptance.  Accompanied by soothing almost nostalgic melodies that blossom into a feeling of wistful serenity, Fukagawa provides emotive spoken word encouraging us to accept the changing seasons of our lives. We are asked to remember everything we experience, the mistakes we make, and the greyness of life. We are asked to have empathy for ourselves. Following winter spring will come. It is OK to experience darkness, and that we can appreciate the light much more because of this. So perhaps, we can even be glad to feel sad.  

Envy incorporate an eclectic mix of genres and musical techniques creating a unique sound that cement their reputation as post-hardcore legends. 

Though shorter than their other albums it certainly stands out as an emotive exploration of self directed rhetoric we employ.

‘Paint over the blank slate, create a transparent colour chart’

Euonia is more than worth a listen, or several!

Review by Charlie Allen