Recitation

VINYL FORMAT. There is a precise point early on in Recitation where it dawns on us that there truly is no other band quite like Envy. Ninety seconds into album opener "Guidance," amid a subtle symphony of synth washes, backwards guitar harmonics and chiming bells, a solitary female voice recites what sounds like a poetry in a language that few Envy fans outside of Japan can understand. And yet, its beauty is undeniable, and its emotional resonance is transcendent, sounding like a Japanese love letter to Brian Eno. This is why labels like "post-hardcore" tend to feel clumsy and slippery when slung at Envy; such tags assume a starting point that's miles away from where Envy began and worlds away from where they are now. It's no surprise that Envy have increasingly found inspiration in instrumental rock and experimental ambient music - genres that historically circumvent cultural trappings. With each album since their inception in the early '90s, the group has chipped away at the linguistic and cultural barriers inherent in international rock music. Their breakthrough came with 2003's A Dead Sinking Story, the groundbreaking third album that replaced familiar hardcore breakdowns with the sound of actual emotional breakdowns, and - along with Isis and Explosions in the Sky - helped blur the lines between more than a few genres. That began a transition that leads straight to Recitation, by far the most dynamic, technically diverse and emotionally complex album of Envy's two-decade career. Where recent co-releases with fellow underground rock icons Thursday and Jesu hinted at a band in transition, Recitation is a fully realized vision from a band at their most inspired.