After the release of their major label debut, Dwell, in 2008, The Envy Corps have retreated back to the studio to record their anticipated sophomore album, tentatively entitled It Culls You. Luke Pettipoole (vocals, bass), Brandon Darner (guitar), Micah Natera (synthesizer, guitar) and Scott Yoshimura (drums) are redefining their sound by taking the pop melodies of their early work and marrying them with a heightened rhythmic sense and a more stripped down, concise approach to instrumentation. The new material has made appearances at recent live shows with fans embracing the bands’ exploration into a less syrupy landscape that stretches the boundaries of the conventional immediate pop song.
Pettipoole formed the band in Ames in 2002 and shepherded a rotating cast of musicians until 2005, in which time their debut, Soviet Reunion, was released on Ames’ Bi-Fi Records. The band really started to take shape once Darner and Yoshimura came aboard in mid-2005, marking a change in sound and aspiration. The EP I Will Write You Love Letters If You Tell Me To was self-released in April 2006 and afforded the band their first taste of national attention by charting well on the CMJ Top 200. Soon after, the band were asked to join The Killers' U.S tour. Labels began to take notice and in the summer of 2006, a Vertigo/Universal A&R rep flew in from London to attend a hometown show and the band landed a record deal. Work on the self-produced Dwell began in November 2006 and the album was completed in England in March 2007.
With recording coming to a close, the band found themselves living in a flat in South London, performing across Britain at every opportunity. They logged more than 200 shows in 2007 alongside bands like Editors, The Killers (again), Mute Math, Eisley, and even secured a slot at the famed Glastonbury festival. Near the end of the year, unexpected trauma threatened the band when Darner suffered a stroke on stage in London. He was rushed to the hospital and recovered quickly, even rejoining the band on the road the following week. Despite growing buzz, a two-page spread in NME, Dwell track “Story Problem's” inclusion in the film Run Fatboy Run and an ever-increasing European fanbase, Vertigo delayed the album release and the band returned to the U.S.
Dwell was finally released in April 2008 in the UK and appeared stateside in digital format in July. The album received positive reviews from critics, but momentum for the album had fizzled, and in the fall of 2008, the band, anxious to focus on their career in the U.S., parted ways with Vertigo.
The Envy Corps released the Kid Gloves EP in April 2009 on their own Tempo Club imprint. The five-song taster gained blog and radio attention throughout the Midwest and its songs were featured in HBO’s Entourage and Showtime’s Look. The quartet have spent time since the release attending to their steadily maturing Midwest fanbase and writing and recording at their home studio in Des Moines and Mike Mogis' ARC Studios in Omaha, Nebraska. Content to take the reigns of any and all aspects of their sophomore effort - recording, engineering, producing, releasing - The Envy Corps are eager to bring their new music to those willing to listen.
Story Problem
The Envy Corps Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This is a Thursday afternoon
But I didn't mean it
No I didn't mean it!
I'd never get that far
My baby short breath wouldn't do
But you took it serious
Took it too serious!
You accused me
Of wearing movies in my eyes
But I still love you
Of course I love you!
And so I countered
You do the same, my Annie I.
And you closed them so fast
And you closed them so tight!
(La la la la la la la la la la)
If we're
Such good friends
Then why don't we act like it
I think it's time
We covered up our deaf spots now
The Envy Corps's song "Story Problem" is about a person who has been wrongly accused of a crime. The lyrics suggest that the singer is escaping from jail on a Thursday afternoon, but insists that they did not actually commit the crime. The person is frustrated that their accuser took their words too seriously and they were accused of doing something they didn't do. The singer is begging for forgiveness and still claims that they love their accuser despite the wrong accusation. The lyrics suggest that there is a lack of communication between the singer and their accuser and that they both need to work on their relationship.
Overall, "Story Problem" seems to be about misunderstandings and the importance of communication to build strong relationships. The singer wants to clear their name, but also wants to reconcile with their accuser. The song highlights the human tendency to jump to conclusions, and how it can lead to misplaced blame and judgment.
Line by Line Meaning
This is a jailbreak
This situation feels like a prison escape
This is a Thursday afternoon
This specific moment in time is irrelevant to the problem at hand
But I didn't mean it
I didn't intend for things to turn out this way
No I didn't mean it!
I need to emphasize that my actions were unintentional
I'd never get that far
I couldn't possibly accomplish what you're accusing me of
My baby short breath wouldn't do
My physical limitations prevent me from doing what you're suggesting
But you took it serious
You were convinced that I could do what you accused me of
Took it too serious!
You overreacted to the situation
You accused me
You blamed me for something I didn't do
Of wearing movies in my eyes
You accused me of being distracted and not taking things seriously
But I still love you
Regardless of the problem, my feelings towards you haven't changed
Of course I love you!
I need to express how much you mean to me
And so I countered
I tried to defend myself by bringing up a similar issue
You do the same, my Annie I.
You're guilty of the same thing that you're accusing me of
And you closed them so fast
You refused to acknowledge your own fault in the situation
And you closed them so tight!
You were defensive and refused to listen to me
(La la la la la la la la la la)
An interlude with no significant meaning
If we're
Assuming that we are in fact
Such good friends
Hypothetically, if we have a strong friendship
Then why don't we act like it
Why aren't we communicating and working through our issues as friends should?
I think it's time
It's become necessary
We covered up our deaf spots now
We need to address the things that we're ignoring in order to move forward
Contributed by Camilla A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.