‘Stij(e)en Wavz’ is the new album from Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson’s new project, Envy Of None. Together with Canadian Bassist & vocalist Andy Curran, Oregon based singer/songwriter Maiah Wynne and keyboardist Alfio Annibalini (a long time Toronto engineer, mixer, producer and keyboards player). Their first album was recorded during the Covid lockdowns and this new one has been over 2 years in the works.
So, to the music. 4 very talented musicians, working together and producing music that is an amalgam of all their talents. It is very much modern progressive with a lot of eighties trippy vibes to it. Tracks like ‘Clouds’ have a dreamlike quality while ‘Handle With Care’ adds more electronics and ‘Under the Stars’ adds a strong Afro-Beat influence beneath the other sounds.
The lead single from the album ‘Not Dead Yet’ is reminiscent of the modern British Prog bands like Sanguine Hum or Lifesigns.
I found that it is very much an album that needs multiple listens to even begin to scratch the surface. The music is deep and there is much, much more than you can glean on initial listening. I also found that moving up from PC speakers to a full-on hi-fi setup made a lot of difference – not bad on the PC speakers but a world of difference the better the player.
Its’ a delight to find that Alex Lifeson has found life after Rush, and a bloody fine album it is too.
