The Envy Corps are from the rather unglamorous surroundings of Des Moines, Iowa famous for being the place to be for insurance companies and, err, Slipknot. So its little wonder then that this four-piece would seek inspiration from elsewhere. The United Kingdom to be precise. All the big names like Coldplay, U2 and Radiohead are present here with just a smattering of Doves thrown in for good measure.

The result is a pleasant enough listening experience, with summery indie-pop fare like ‘Story Problem’ but The Envy Corps have a tendency to reach for that predictable crowd pleasing anthem sound with ‘99-100′ and the god-awful ‘Walls’ being particular offenders. Talking of God, this band seem to spend a lot of time in His company as He is actually quite a prevalent theme on this record, with ‘The Keys to Good Living’ coming off the wrong side of preachy and we get a message to ’spite the devil’ in the decent ‘Rhinemaidens’. Nah, we all need a little bit of devil in us and Dwell could certainly benefit with a bit more.

This is all pretty melodic stuff that, while ‘playing it safe’ might be slightly harsh as lyrical content like “I need a fresh arm I can slice up or cut off” from ‘Rooftop’ for example is quite morose stuff, it just sounds too radio and MTV friendly to be taken seriously. That said The Envy Corps do have their moments and you can’t help but be taken in by tracks like ‘Wires & Wool’, closer ‘Baby Teeth’ and standout track, recent single ‘Story Problem’.

All in all this is a pretty harmless album but without being inventive enough to break free from the shackles of being labelled another generic Coldplay-inspired band, in need of a fresh identity for themselves. Dwell is a fine stopgap until Colplay release Viva La Vida on June 12th so if you can’t wait that long then this is the album for you.
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mp3:> The Envy Corps: Baby Teeth

Links
The Envy Corps [myspace]