Alex Lifeson, lead guitarist from the Rock Hall of Fame legend, Rush, is back. While Rush is on hold; after the death of Neil Peart, Alex put together his own band, Envy of None. They will soon release their self-titled debut album, on Kscope Records, on April 8th, 2022.
The band is made up of: Alex Lifeson, (Rush), on lead guitar, mandola, banjo, and programming; Andy Curran, (Coney Hatch), on bass guitar, synthesized bass, programming, guitar, backing vocals, and stylophone; Alfio Annibalini, on guitar, keyboards, and programming; and lead singer, Maiah Wynne, on lead and backing vocals, and keyboards.
They released their first single, “Liar”, January 12, 2022, along with a lyric video. They have just released their second single, “Look Inside”, with an accompanying video, today, March 9, 2022.
Lifeson started the search for this band, with a search for a female vocalist. He found Maiah Wynne. The smartest thing any band could do these days. Expand your market to its greatest extent. Include women. Maiah Wynne is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress based out of Portland, Oregon “Maiah became my muse,” continues Alex Lifeson. “She was able to bring this whole new ethereal thing through her sense of melody on tracks like “Liar” and “Look Inside”. After hearing her vocals on “Never Said I Love You”, I felt so excited. I’ve never had that kind of inspiration working with another musician. When we say she’s special, it’s because she’s really fucking special!”
Amen. There are enough men singing rock and roll. Start with a female vocalist and build from there. Well, this album is a wonderful departure from Rush, and it allows Lifeson to expand his range far and wide. This album will give Tears for Fears new album a run for its money; once more people hear it and find out about its hidden mysteries.
“Never Said I Love You”, opens the album. , and I agree with what Alex said above, regarding Maiah Wynne’s vocals. She is perfect for this band and this music. Light, ethereal, drifting, yet, engaging and emotional. Her vocals encompass it all. The soft beat of the drums, and the dull keyboards that open the track are perfect. Very electronic sounding music. Then Maiah sings, “For you I gave it all. Nothing could stop my love. After all the times you said you’d stay. I never said I love you. I never said I’d make you mine”. A great song about life’s many commitments and standing by the commitments you make. Alex, leaving the heavy power of Rush behind, for now, to embrace the new, electric, ethereal realm. Showing his musical depth, and helping other artists to broaden their horizons and appeal. I love this band, and its concept.
“Shadow”, opens with cool synthesizers, set to an exacting beat. Maiah sings, “Your darkness follows me. What do I do when I hear your voice telling me I’m not alone anymore?” Wow. That feeling in a relationship, when you know the other person is there, and what they might be thinking; even when they are not there. Deep relationships, like we had before the Pandemic moved in, to separate us all.
“Look Inside”, opens with more cool keyboards and far off spacey sounds. Then Alex’s first powerful guitar riff. He waited, what poise. A cool wabbling, reverb that just cuts the air perfectly; like a swollen wave on the ocean. Maiah sings, “Deep in my veins I can still hear the echoes. Breaking the silence and blocking the chains. Wash me away like the tears in the rain”. Wow. Read that again. Yes, deep lyrics, that reflect what we have all been going through these last two years. One of the best songs of the year and off this album. The video is amazing. Our first glimpse of Maiah, and you know Alex made the perfect choice. Maiah sings, “Nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. See where the darkness lies”. Inside.
“Liar”, opens with machine – like noises before the cool synths and keyboards kick in. Maiah sings, “The world starts burning, when your eyes meet mine. You let your darkness show and now I know that everything you said is just a lie”. Like Depeche Mode, with a soft, but serious, female singer instead. Perfect! Each song gets better. No wonder this was the first single. I already want to see this band play live, after only the first four tracks.
“Spy House”, opens with electric guitar and programming, before drums and keyboards join in. They bring the strings to kick it up another level. Nice touch. Maiah’s voice is seductive and hypnotizing. Alex adds a Santana – like electric guitar solo and it is amazing. Fluid motion and bouncy rhythms. You know he is having fun with this pause from Rush, for sure.
“Dog`s Life”, has a heavy drum beat, along with cool guitar chords and lightning like keyboards. A commentary on a tough life of all work, no play. Deeper, darker and heavier than the rest of the album. Maiah repeats , “It’s a dog’s life. Blood, sweat, and tears. You’ve gotta want it”. Then, Alex folds it up a notch with a heavy metal electric guitar solo that just catches you, completely off guard. Nice.
“Kabul Blues”, opens with some fantastic lightning keys, programming and synthesizers, before drums kick in. Maiah adds beautiful “oohs”. Then she sings about the difficult times in Kabul, set to that Kashimir/Middle Eastern sound, so perfect. This song reminds me of Vancouver’s Delirium, from the album, Semantic Spaces. Now I want to play that album after finishing this…
“Old Strings”, starts slow with jar like sounds and deep bold synths and programming. A chorus of aahs from Maiah and others. Maiah sings, “I feel like old strings. My mind won’t stretch the way it used to do. But that’s nothin’ new. And I feel like those used things. The ones left in boxes on the shelf”. Steve Howe – like electric guitar in the background as Maiah aahs again. A realization that time has passed and you are no longer the same. In these moments you need someone that is close; that knows you well. All of that, and the truth.
“Dumb”, is full of weird noises, before a very cool synthesized beat and rhythm takes you by storm. Another of the best tracks on the album. Maiah’s voice is perfect, delivering cool lyrics. Depeche Mode, mixed well with Steve Howe-like, Yes, high chords. Imagine that mix. Nice, new, and different.
“Western Sunset”, the album closer, was penned by Alex Lifeson in tribute to his dear friend Neil Peart. It’s a highly emotive piece of instrumental music to honor a man deeply missed by the rock community at large, and even more so by those who were lucky enough to know him. “I visited Neil when he was ill,” says Alex Lifeson. “I was on his balcony watching the sunset and found inspiration. There’s a finality about a sunset that kinda stayed with me throughout the whole process. It had meaning. It was the perfect mood to decompress after all these different textures… a nice way to close the book.” Yes, the music sounds, just like a long sunset.
This is the most amazing album that I have heard this year. Completely different than anything else I have heard in a while. Similar to Pure Reason Revolution meets Depeche Mode, meets modern Rush. Just the perfect mix. What more can you say? I’m sure this one will be in my top ten of 2022. Can’t wait to get the CD. Please give this some time and enjoy hearing something different, that will burn into your memory quickly. Alex could have just created another standard heavy guitar album. That would have been easy. But he stretched himself to create something lasting and helped build a new career for a wonderful cadre of musicians with an outstanding vocalist.
Track Listing
1. Never Said I Love You – 04:06
2. Shadow – 03:21
3. Look Inside – 04:44
4. Liar – 03:13
5. Spy House – 02:23
6. Dog`s Life- 04:36
7. Kabul Blues – 03:12
8. Old Strings – 05:15
9. Dumb – 04:19
10. Enemy – 04:16
11. Western Sunset – 02:25
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