Envy of None: Stygian Waves

Here we have the second album from the outfit known as Envy of None, titled Stygian Waves. Of course this band features a couple of noteworthy names, one being Alex Lifeson from Rush (guitars and other assorted instruments) and the other Andy Curran from Coney Hatch (bass, programming) along with Alfio Annibalini (keyboards) and super singer Maiah Wynne. Various drummers have helped lend their talents to various songs on the album. The results are similar but improved upon the formula of 2024's Under the Stars.

The album kicks off with "Not Dead Yet", a pulsating, intoxicating spacy modern rock song...great dreamy vocals, lots of groove, heavy guitars, but more in the background. Maiah's vocals on "The Story" are quite well done, throbbing bass from Andy, Alex going more for textures, and plenty of synths. Nice guitar solo that is total Alex! Catchy stuff. I could see something like this really catching on with mainstream audiences. "Under the Stars" has more of those ethereal vocals from Maiah in a dreamy pop-rock setting that floats along with a nice underpinning of synths and guitars. On the surface, there doesn't seem to be much going on, but the song sticks with you and there are a lot of textures. Memorable chorus, and another tasty little solo from Alex using the whammy bar nicely. "Thrill of the Chase" is an upbeat modern rock song, crisp guitars and bass, and busy drumming. It's a catchy track, though I wish Maiah would have done a more 'belting' vocal style on this rather than the soft breathy thing. "Handle With Care" kind of drifts and meanders, sort of reminds me of Radiohead...not much of a fan. "That Was Then" contains bubbling synths everywhere, nice bass grooves from Andy, and more of those dreamy vocals from Maiah. This one kind of grabs you and pulls you in, some serious groove here, the little guitar bits that Alex is doing really work, though it's mostly minimalist. There's like a techno-pop-electronic vibe here...not normally my thing but I like this. The bluesy guitar solo from Alex has a David Gilmour vibe.

Maiah is the star on "Raindrops", another dreamy, floating kind of pop track. It's not bad, but nothing overly exciting either. "New Trip" is a fine enough song, again, really mellow, Maiah shining on the vocals, overall arrangement is pretty lush with the keys and Alex's guitar textures. I detect some slide and pedal steel on this one. "Clouds" is a decent track, a little more forceful vocal from Maiah, a memorable chorus, and just a strong rock song, Alex even throwing in some cool riffs and a killer solo. Another in a long line of dreamy, floating pop songs is "The End", which, musically, there's not much to see here, but she oozes charisma. "Stygian Waves" is probably my favorite song on the album...it has a sort of gothic metal/prog thing going on, not unlike classic The Gathering, with big booming bass, drums, and synths, Maiah soaring all over the place, and Middle Eastern guitar passages from Alex. I wish there was more like this here.

Overall, much of this is not really in my wheelhouse, but, I totally get the artsyness of it all, and I think there is a much larger audience out there waiting for something like this, especially younger music listeners who don't know who Alex and Andy are. Maiah is the secret weapon, and they need to really push her for this to succeed.

Track Listing
1) Not Dead Yet
2)The Story
3)Under the Stars
4)Thrill of the Chase
5)Handle With Care
6)That Was Then
7)Raindrops
8)New Trip
9)Clouds
10)The End
11)Stij)e)en Wavz

Added: June 22nd 2025
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 177
Language: english

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