Envy : Eunoia Review

by Steven Miller

Soaring past the thirty-year mark as a band, Japan’s Envy returns with their eighth studio album, Eunoia, an offering that is raw and filled with feels. The eight-song project is enriched by a wide palette of sonic textures as Eunoia captures a band that’s not just surviving—it’s thriving, despite the challenges of time and significant personnel shifts. This album, the second release since a major shake-up in 2018, finds Envy leaning into vulnerability while exploring new sonic terrains. The result is an album that encapsulates not just the experience of a band evolving, but also a glimpse of their collective soul as they channel their struggles into art.

Eunoia draws its title from the Greek word meaning “goodwill” or “beautiful thinking,” which perfectly encapsulates the themes embedded throughout. It’s a search for hope in an increasingly chaotic world, expressed through the intricate interplay of heavy, frantic soundscapes and poignant, softer moments. Envy has always straddled the line between beauty and intensity, but here, the balance feels more deliberate, as if every passage represents a diary entry in As founding member and songwriter, Nobukata Kawai’s quest for solace amid turmoil. The album’s concept is not to hide its flaws but to embrace them as part of the band’s ongoing evolution—an acceptance of their own “powerlessness,” as Kawai himself describes, while still clinging to moments of hope and transcendence.

The album opens with “Piecemeal,” a subdued prelude of spoken word and shimmering guitar, acting as a door slowly creaking open, inviting listeners to enter Envy’s atmospheric world. It’s an unassuming introduction that sets the emotional tone—not a crash, but a quiet contemplation before the storm. And that storm arrives promptly with “Imagination and Creation,” an electrifying track that bursts forth with the urgency and controlled chaos that Envy masters so well. Tetsuya Fukagawa’s vocals oscillate between rapid-fire spoken word and visceral screams, backed by thundering blastbeats, full-textured guitars, and driving drums. The track is a quintessential display of the band’s unique ability to marry the frenetic energy of post-hardcore with serene, almost meditative post-rock guitar work.

While each track offers a piece of the overarching narrative, “Beyond the Raindrops” stands out as a true highlight. The shifting grooves and layered guitars contrast perfectly with Fukagawa’s emotionally raw delivery, showcasing the use of dynamics—a careful balance between tension and release, soft and loud. The dirty guitar tone juxtaposed with cleaner segments creates a layered soundscape that feels alive, constantly shifting and morphing. The song’s narrative element—its interspersed spoken word passages—at times challenges the flow, but ultimately adds a rawness that feels like a direct line into the heart of the band. The chorus here is perhaps the most accessible moment on the album, embedding itself effortlessly in the listener’s mind with its evocative power.

“Whiteout” also deserves mention, with its relentless energy and striking shifts in texture. The song’s opening drum solo is a jolt of adrenaline, soon giving way to frenetic, stabbing guitars reminiscent of Envy’s earlier works. There’s a palpable tension as the song transitions towards a shoegaze-influenced section, the distortion clearing just enough to reveal a hopeful crescendo. It’s in these glimmers of beauty—the “sunbeams filtering through”—that Eunoia truly lives up to its name.

The closing track, “January’s Dusk,” provides a reflective, meditative finale. Its use of reverb-heavy guitar lines and Fukagawa’s introspective spoken word feels like the afterglow of the chaos that came before—a moment of exhausted beauty. There is a sense of finality here, yet also a lingering hope. It’s not the triumphant roar of victory, but the soft exhale of endurance, of having weathered the storm and found beauty within the struggle. The track’s hazy shoegaze quality adds a dream-like aura, as if the music itself is fading into memory, leaving an imprint on the listener that encourages reflection.

It’s worth noting that Eunoia is notably more succinct than previous releases, clocking in at just around 30 minutes. While this brevity adds a certain intensity to each track, there are moments where the compositions feel like they’re cut short, almost stifled before reaching their full potential. Tracks like “The Night and the Void” are brimming with promise—layered guitars and rich keyboard support hint at something expansive—yet they seem to hold back, leaving a sense of unfinished exploration. Similarly, “Whiteout” struggles with cohesion, its angular rhythmic experimentation at times feeling overshadowed by the strengths of other tracks like “Lingering Echoes.” It’s in these moments that Eunoia can feels slightly disjointed, as if the band was attempting to say too much within too tight a timeframe.

That said, the highs on Eunoia demonstrate the very essence of what makes Envy such a revered force in the post-hardcore and screamo scenes. The spoken word elements, a signature of Envy’s style, do at times overstay their welcome, detracting from the instrumental skill on display. When used sparingly, these narrative segments enrich the emotional landscape, but their abundance in tracks like “The Night and the Void” can weigh down the momentum. However, this is a minor quibble in the face of the album’s overall impact—a powerful testament to the band’s resilience and evolution.

After more than three decades, Envy remains an underground institution, one that continues to push boundaries while remaining true to their roots. Eunoia is not a perfect album—its peaks are breathtaking, but its valleys can feel unfinished, as though the listener is left peering over a precipice, yearning for just a bit more. However, this imperfection is also part of its charm. The album feels human, raw, and unpolished, much like the beautiful thinking it takes its name from. Envy’s ability to craft moments of visceral intensity alongside passages of reflective beauty speaks to their enduring legacy as pioneers of their craft.

In Eunoia, Envy has once again proven that they are not content to rest on their laurels. Instead, they continue to evolve, to challenge themselves and their listeners, and to find light amidst the darkness. For a band that’s already left an indelible mark on the genre, Eunoia is reminder of Envy’s ability to channel chaos and beauty—and to find meaning in the space between.