[...music...]

2010-10-04

a couple of weeks ago, i pre-ordered envy's new album "recitation". since i was paying for shipping fees, i decided to add another item to my order, grails' "doomsdayer's holiday". the order shipped a week earlier than i thought. i received it in the mail last week.

the envy album starts off quiet: a bit of poetry reading, then a long, drawn-out mono-esque song intro. at first listen, i was afraid they may have gone full post-rock on this release. but no, the vocals begin, and i am assured that they've kept their screamo influences.

this is the kind of album that requires full attention to be appreciated. unfortunately, i haven't had the time to solely focus on this release for the past week. i've only been listening to it as background music, and there is not yet one track that stands out for me. i'll need to find an evening to spend some time on this.

the grails album is different from what i usually listen to. it's kind of trippy, jazzy, heavy. the soundtrack to some dark experimental film. i love the opening title track:

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Labels: cd purchase, envy, grails

2008-10-30

thursday/envy split

i found out about this two months ago. then, i pre-ordered it in mid-september. finally, it arrived in the mail today. it's the thursday/envy split!

the artwork is really nice (i chose the gold/black colour scheme). the tornado matches perfectly with what the music feels like.

it's my first time buying a lp, which is silly because i don't even own a record player. well, this also comes with a cd, integrated in the tri-fold sleeve:

inside the tri-fold sleeve is more artwork:

each version is limited to 1000 copies. i got number 687:

the vinyl is coloured: a gold/black mix to match the jacket:

[no, i'm not going to start collecting vinyl now. i am not enough of an audiophile/music freak.]

beautiful packaging aside, what about the music? epic. this release combines two bands i adore, who do the 'screaming + melody' (i.e. 'screamo') thing so well. as much as i like their vocals, my favourite are the instrumental tracks by both bands (and especially thursday; the moody instrumental material seems to be a new direction for them, which i like.)

at first, i was slightly surprised by the pairing of these two bands. but after listening to the whole cd, it does make sense. just listen to the last thursday track, followed by the first envy track:

thursday - appeared and was gone

envy - an umbrella fallen into fiction

edit: i just found out that the official release date is november 4. i guess this would be a birthday self-gift.

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, envy, thursday

2008-01-18

japan rock

gah, i feel so sick right now. sore throat, coughing, runny nose, headache, body temperature rising and dropping... this feels like a fever.

but surprise, this arrived in the mail today, and it cheered me up:

it was my first time ordering something directly from the label. temporary residence had a sale in december: four envy cd's and a mono dvd as a winter pack; also, buy 5 get 1 free, so i chose a fifth envy cd. since this was a pre-order, they only started shipping the stuff this week. it arrived today, yay! additionally, the lovely people at temporary residence marked the package as 'gift', so there was no customs tax to pay for this shipment arriving in montreal from the united states. very satisfied with my order; the next time they release something i like, i will definitely order directly from them.

the envy cd's i got:
all the footprints you've ever left and the fear expecting ahead
a dead sinking story
compiled fragments 1997-2003
insomniac doze
abyssal [ep]

the first three were out of print, and are now re-released by temporary residence. i first heard about this band after listening to mogwai's "mr. beast", where a member of envy contributes some vocals. at one point, i had gone through a 'screamo' phase, and so i immediately fell in love. i'd say envy is somewhere between post-rock and screamo, as there are highs and lows in the music, as well as emotional screaming vocals. i like that they've included english translations to their japanese lyrics, so i can follow what the songs are about. it's a beautiful mess.

i've just watched a bit of the mono dvd, "the sky remains the same as ever". it is mostly concert footage from their 2006-2007 tour, which included a date in montreal. unfortunately, in was in mid-april 2007, during the finals exams period of my final undergrad semester, and so i missed the show. now, i wished i had attended, because the concert footage seemed quite awesome! they're so intense. i hope they come back...

~~~

Labels: cd purchase, envy, mono