Envy of None – “Stygian Wavz” | Progressive Rock Central.com

Envy Of None has returned to deliver their much anticipated second album, Stygian Wavz. The album was released on Kscope Records, back on March 28. 2025. The band’s first studio album, baring only the bands’ name, consisted of eleven fantastic tracks, which became some of my favorite songs of the year, after its release on April 8, 2022.

The Canadian/American band, founded by Alex Lifeson, and made up of the former lead guitarist of Rush; who plays guitar, mandola, banjo, and does much of the programming. Maiah Wynne, is the enigmatic, dramatic, and melodic voice of the band. She performs all lead and backing vocals. She is also a multi-instrumentalist who also plays the keyboards on this album. Alfio Annibalini, also plays guitar, keyboards, and generates programming. And Andy Curran, plays bass guitar, synthesized bass, programming, guitar, stylophone, and sings backing vocals.

Alex Lifeson, Maiah Wynne, Alfio Annibalini, and Andy Curran. Envy of None

Stygian Waves, opens with “Not Dead Yet”. The music video is an AI generated masterpiece of face changing, with a play on the “Day of the Dead”. Maiah’s voice is as incredibly charming as it was on the debut album. She wrote more of the lyrics on this album. After reviewing her solo album a couple of months ago, I hear a lot of her influence on this song. Not sure if she wrote this, but my gut tells me she did. If you listen to her solo album this could be autobiographical. It could also be Alex crying out to all those Rush fans that “he has a new bag”, and is not retiring anytime soon. A great way to open a return album. Let ‘em know your back…with a lot of new sounds and songs!

“The Story”, is another great song that sounds similar to the last album, which was great. If its not broke why fix it. Again, I hear a lot of Maiah’s influence on the lyrics and style of this song. Alex and Andy fill the soundscape with so many colorful innovations, if you listen carefully with headphones. I just don’t think there is a better female singer on the Earth right now than Maiah. She told me she “is an old soul”. And that comes through clearly on every piece of music she sings. She is not glamorous, though she could easily be. She is down to earth. The lady next store. Humble, despite her appearance, abilities and renown. The music video supporting this track is superb, telling the story from Maiah’s perspective. Many of us have a tough life. Few of us find a way to deal with and grow past the difficulties. So far Maiah and Envy of None still show no signs of needing to be, or needing to have anything other than what they are and want. There is, no envy here, just simple satisfaction, celebrated within every song.

“Under the Stars”, opens with percussion and a sound of the streets of Morocco; with Andy’s bass setting the pace. Maiah’s vocals charm us, with those beautiful “Ahs”; that by now, she is so famous for, (or should be). She continues, “You’re not alone. Not this time. You’re always home. In my head. Hold my hand. If you’re lost you can reach out and find me. I’ll understand”. Yes, she can, because she has been there. I am so glad she shared with me her solo album. It gave me so much perspective on this and the last Envy of None album, that I didn’t have before I listened to Out of the Dark. She has been where you and I couldn’t imagine, and she knows the way to steer out of the darkness. With this song, she is inviting you to join her, and to come out of that darkness with her.

“Thrill of the Chase”, opens with clap—like percussion sounds, and some excellent guitar riffs that Alex and Andy innovated during their spare time. If you listen carefully, you’ll hear a little hats off to the Beatles’ “Daytripper”, one of my favorites from their earlier catalog, lurking beneath the main melody. Alex and Andy take it to another level by adding their own cunning moves on guitar. Like a return to the high school playground for fun. Clap sounds fill the air and the playful way Maiah is singing; in front of these two maestros of the guitar. Who doesn’t like the thrill of the chase? And when Maiah’s breathing hard with her vocal delivery…what more could you possibly want. A cool danceable song, with those whah, whah kinda sounds just driving the beat!

“Handle With Care”, definitely has to be one of Maiah’s songs. The lyrics harken back to Out of the Dark. When you look at Maiah, you may think “nothing has gone wrong in her life”. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I invite you to go back to her debut solo album Out of the Dark. The “Story” is there. However, what you see today is a Maiah who is at the top of her game. But only after overcoming some absolutely unbelievable adversity. So, she is warning everyone that she is fragile. I also think she is projecting that fragility to many of us in this world full of day to day violence, global war, misogynistic attacks, and all the things we do to each other, and so often. It’s a message of be kind to strangers. Have some empathy. And probably most importantly of all, let’s change the world.

“That Was Then”, is a reminder that things have changed. Maiah is not the woman who fell prey to things from the past. She is much more assertive and conditions have changed, if anyone wishes to have a relationship of any kind with her. The rules have changed, and she is no longer reading that, “book you wrote of self-destruction, and put my picture on the cover”. A powerful song of independence, confidence and self-awareness, delivered with those now famous Alex and Andy guitar and keyboard effects surrounding the soundscape.

On “Raindrops”, Maiah sings, “Raindrops dripping down my face. Wish that I could wish it all away”. A move to California, between albums, certainly helped take care of that a little. Maiah moved from the Portland, Oregon area, famous for its rain. She sings, “Sunshine, it’s not here to stay”. Staying positive and in control is a daily effort for all of us. The end of the song, and the reggae beat throughout, reminds me of Stuart Copeland and the Police.

“New Trip”, opens with peering keyboards entering the darkness, before beautiful Maiah vocal incantations. Thank you Maiaih, for those “Ah, ahs”. Maiah sings, “take me on a new trip, (on the highway). With sun on my face. Let the wind and the river run, (through my veins). And wash the past away”. Yes, she deserves it. Leaving the past behind, hopefully for good. She’s, “learning how to leave the pain with yesterday”. Yes.

“Clouds”, stars with a darker sound than the last sunny song we just heard. Maiah sings, “I’ve been lost in the clouds. Found a friend in the dark. It’s creeping down my neck. Carving shapes in my head”. Then, the past comes back to haunt her. She sings, “There’s the edge of a knife. Laying under the weeds. There’s a voice in my head. Screaming save me. Screaming save me!” She ends with, “I’ve learned to like it when it rains”. She knows how to deal with depression and fear now, but it still creeps up on all of us, from time to time.

“The End”, is actually not the end. But maybe it was, until they created the dedication of the title track for the country of Ukraine. This is another brooding, bass lead, precession of rhythm. Maiah, leaves us with a powerful reminder and warning, as Alex plays magical mandola. The lyrics are dark and full of warning. Maiah sings, “Been singing to the tune of the night. Sunken to the rhythm of a broken tide. I feel the distance. I hear the heartbreak of the past. I am the witness. To the dream that cannot last. The end. Is closer than you think. In the blink of an eye. It’s not too late to change”. And then the moral of the story, “In the end it’s what you leave behind”. She also adds another important line, “What you give is what you get. Oh you’re burning like a cigarette. All the things you might regret. And your fading like a silhouette”. Heed her warning and change now to preserve the precious moments left in our lives. Thanks Maiah!

“Stygian Wavz”, is the album’s title song. It is mostly an instrumental closer, with the few words in Ukrainian translated into English. It features a very upbeat trance-like sound, with Maiah whispering “Tsangma zhidey yongshik”, or “Peace to All”! Maiah fills the soundscape with “ahs” and vocalizations. Alex, Andy and the band fill the air with amazing transcendental music!

I love both of Envy of None’s albums. But these Stygian Wavz, are just so much fun to dance and sing to, that I might like this sophomore album, a tiny, little bit more. Everything that Envy of None does is well thought out and prepared. They took their time during the Pandemic to write and record their debut album, and refused to be hurried into this second album. That means, as I think Alex Lifeson has said many times since, that they are doing this for fun, and not the money. You can tell they are enjoying every moment of this new journey with no plans to jump off to other projects. I will enjoy Stygian Wavz the rest of this year, and begin looking forward to the next chapter, thereafter. Maybe someday there will be a show, where we can watch this band perform together. I don’t know about you, but I imagine this band in the studio, doing something like that music video the Police made for the song, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic”. And that is just how I want to leave this review. Imagine Alex, Andy, Maiah and Alf, just carrying on like kids released from school, in the studio creating. Get Envy of None’s Stygian Wavz, and have some fun!