What were you doing in February 2020? ENVY was playing to a sold-out crowd at their home base in Tokyo, LIQUIDROOM. Watching the live video of the track “Dawn And Gaze” is more magical now because it represents a time when we all gathered together, touching and breathing and sweating and sharing energy, unaware that something so fundamentally healing to so many of us was about to be brought to an abrupt end. Seeing ENVY live would be magical anyway, but with my renewed appreciation for imagination and astral projection, I can really imagine myself caught in the reverie of this show. Lucky for us, they recorded the set and just recently released it in the form of LAST WISH Live at LIQUIDROOM Tokyo. It’s out now on vinyl via Pelagic Records – order it here – and you can buy the digital version via their bandcamp below. Maybe it’s the soaring, emotionally eviscerating post-rock this band gifts us and maybe it’s the distant memory of losing myself in the physicality of sound, but I’m crying watching this. We’ll do this again, and we’ll learn to do this without fear again. Until then, immerse yourself in the visuals we’re bringing to you on “Dawn And Gaze”…
Envy played only one show after the worldwide release of their critically acclaimed new album, The Fallen Crimson. In February 2020 – before COVID-19 effectively halted all live music worldwide, Envy performed a crazy, sweaty, sold-out hometown show at LIQUIDROOM, the Tokyo venue that has become sort of an extended living room for the legendary band. “We were lucky that we were able to play this one gig before all live shows were canceled“, says vocalist Testu Fukagawa. “The performance itself is a bit rough and we could probably have performed better, but we wanted to send our fresh feelings to our fans by means of this performance, while they can’t see Envy live.”
