Knowing full well this album was dropping this year (it was on my albums to look forward to in 2010 list last year), I was surprised by its release and caught unaware that it had finally dropped to the public; and this definitely affected the way that Recitation hit me for some strange reason. I sit here and say, “You know, I should listen to the new Envy right now” but end up not doing so for some reason or another; but when I do pop Recitation, it is damn hard to stop listening to the record.
Certainly, this is another quality Envy release full of the swirling atmospherics, powerful song arrangements, and soaring melodies that sound so completely uplifting. While listening to the album, all I can think about is a simple question that pops up whenever I hear a part or song that catches my ear. Is there any band out there that does what Envy does? While this may be a bit of hyperbole, this is an honest question to which anyone who listens to the beauty of “Rain Clouds Running In A Holy Night” should probably answer no because they would be hard pressed to find another band who does. The addition of female vocals to a couple of tracks (the two bookends, “Guidance” and “Your Hand”) brings a new layer to Envy’s repertoire that brings a welcome change of pace, as does the acoustic interlude that is “Incomplete” while some quicker tempos (like in “Dreams Coming To An End”) showcases an exciting re-development for their material. I swear the guitar part that opens “A Hint And The Incapacity” is the same guitar part in Radiohead’s “No Surprises”; I thought it was a cover until I did a double take when I looked at the song title (before the song fully developed into a vastly different composition).
Truthfully, Recitation is another feather in Envy’s collective cap; I am just not sure if this is up to the same level of say Insomniac Doze or A Dead Sinking Story (my two favorite Envy releases). Still, if you like later era Envy, definitely get into this record because it does grow on you like a fungus and is tricky to get out of your head (don’t believe me? Listen to “0 and 1” and disagree with me then).
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