Tintinnabulant

So it’s really easy to get all ambiguous and “I like different bands for different reasons” when talking about music, but the truth is everybody plays favorites, even me. So I’m just gonna says it: I have a favorite band. And it is The Envy Corps. And this is why:

Before the Goldrush

The gold rush is on
And I’m leaving you Mom
The casons are rolling along
I know that sister’s
Still living in sin
When I’ve time I’ll judge her again

I tried my best
Like you said

Good friends are wishing
Goodbyes and good lucks
While husbands and wives have a last hug
I drank till I was unable to stand
The sickle, the noose and the firebrand

Waste, I’m a waste of time

So I tried and I tried
But it all went wrong
Oh, my best

You were my trumpeter swan
All along

Baby Teeth

When I still thought there was time
I’d peel back these blisters
And rub them with brine
Whisper and mouth lullabies
Pretending those words were not mine

Is it a bit much to ask
For the snow to come down
And cover my tracks
Carrying lies is a task
And frankly, dear, we wear me out

Of the rise and the fall
I would sing songs capturing it all
But I won’t sing to you again
Cause you’re not listening

And after the silence was flung
The amateur marriage still rests on my tongue
Could we, to bear some relief,
Consider this union baby teeth?

Of the rise and the fall
I could sing songs capturing you all
But I won’t sing to you again
Cause you’re not listening

Oh and after the silence was flung
A battle was always fought
My strategy always was
To kiss the tip of your tongue
So the words could not roll off
So the vowels could not form
How clever I thought I was

One for the casualty,
One for the party dress.
The pace of the guillotine best me,
Severed my head from my rest.

To elaborate, the Envy Corps are:

1. Intelligent – Allusions abound to works such as Richard Wagner’s Das Rheingold poet Sylvia Plath, as does SAT-level vocabulary (try “fissure,” “desideratum,” and “slough” on for size).
   
2. Catchy, yet dark – You’re bopping along to the beat when all of a sudden Luke Pettipoole lays down a line like “I could not imagine such frightening fun as dying,” and then you realize he’s not just singing just to sing. You could take a course on their lyrics alone.
   
3. Extremely self-aware – Their songs are by no means repetitive, but they’re also not all over the place. The Envy Corps have a firm grasp on their sound, and they are not willing to add showy yet discordant extras for the sake of attracting more interest (“Look, he’s playing the bassoon, the glockenspiel, and a saw–all at the same time!”) and that lends authenticity to their music. They are who they are; you can take it or leave it.
4. Responsive to fans – Because they have not yet reached the pedestal of popularity, The Envy Corps are still in touch with their fans (hopefully, this will not change with increasing acclaim). I admire a band whose members can stand at the product table and conduct actual conversations with fans (speaking, of course, from experience).
   
5. I have not heard a song of theirs I do not like. [And that's big.]
   

See, sometimes commitment can be a good thing. Enjoy!

LisaM