Play 90 second soundbite of 'A Welcome To My Generation' @ 'CD quality'
I can sense an energy within Envisage, a certain thrust or propulsion that's driving these five guys to where they're trying to be. This mini album, I have to say, is pretty raw and lacks a bit of finesse but what Envisage lack in silk they make up for in 'sackcloth and ashes' rawness. It's all a bit different, a bit home-made, a little naive and stripped down but, there's definitely something there. Good variation though, Envisage have a soulful side, there's a bit of rapping goin' on - hey, mix and match works!! I can hear The Who in there, I can sense some Kinks but, I can also detect a bit of Oasis and Verve - so it's pretty all-encompassing really, a sort of grind-rock from the streets of East London - genuine, not always pretty but certainly genuine!
It's in the mix folks, it's in there that Envisage get a lot of their retro-ness; the vocals are just a little too far back at times and they're a bit on the light side at times - but, that's where the sound is coming from, that's where Envisage get that 'boys from the street' feel. With a bit of polish Envisage could become quite a force. As they are I guess they'll get loads of work in their locality but might struggle to get much further afield. But, there's something there that's almost 'charming' in its frankness, its reality!! 'What Tomorrow Might Mean' by Envisage is a quirky but enticing work - its home-grown feel adds something but perhaps still leaves work to be done. At times the music doesn't flow as smoothly I'd like it to - it's all a bit of a bumpy ride at the moment, a bit 'broken'. Lyrically there's also some naivety - metering is an issue occasionally and Envisage should try to write within the meter even if that means using 'street talk' rather than the Queen's English.
Envisage probably sound exactly like this in the 'live' so that can't be a bad thing. I'm not sure though - I'd like to hear these guys with a bit of musical 'velvet' rather than with this scratchy horse-hair. There's certainly potential here - time will tell I guess - a nice little mini album that's as honest as the say is long - very much a what you see is what you get kinda thing - there's more to come yet, of that I'm sure!
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