Envie

Envie

Independent Release

originally published April 18, 2007

There’s nothing wrong, morally speaking, with simply pleasant music. Anything that gives a person joy is generally an okay thing. I do, however, have a problem with half-measures and this album, while excellently written and recorded, is full of them.

The tension that some artists keep simmering below the surface lends gravity and depth to their recordings, but in the case of Atlanta's Envie it leaves me simply wanting more. Typical of this experience is the album's opening track “Passage.” A solid guitar riff introduces the pretty, but not overwhelming, vocals of Renee Nelson. Her vocal hesitancy seems to come from a place of wanting to make the recording nothing less than perfect, and thus she loses much of the potential soul and power of her songs, which feature piano melodies that are creative, memorable and dignified.

The jump-up cabaret styling of “Trapped In Amber” has room to gro, but the cinematic “Still Room” is incredible. Easily the best song on the album, it begins with a simple but effective piano riff, and Nelson's voice sounds free, happy and certain. It is also this style which I could envision a nearly perfect album being made with her voice and little less-full instrumentation. Envie began as a small group with piano, cello and harp and the full-band arrangements found here muddle up the sound as many times as they fill out a song properly. In the end, that’s another half measure that's frustrating. There’s nothing wrong with simply pleasant music but wasting potential by weakening ones art, when it’s obvious that it could be so much more powerful, is an affront to the muse who gifted you.

Gordon Lamb