Summery, catchy indie-pop.
Envelopes are a truly multi-national band, with members living in Paris, Stockholm and Malmo they have let music triumph over distance to produce a catchy post-punk, indie-pop sound. The five-piece formed in 2002 and waited three years to release their debut album 'Demon' in the UK, where it did not cause a storm but was not unsuccessful enough to prevent another release. 'Life On The Beach' thus provides a taster of the groups upcoming album 'Here Comes The Wind'.
The title track opens with a heady mix of teenage bravado and artful suspense before building into a rhythmic chorus – an unoriginal song structure maybe but nonetheless a pleasing one. Lyrically the song is somewhat nonsensical, but that is forgivable given that none of the band are native English speakers and adds to the feeling of fun brought by other song elements such as random shouts and laughs and percussion performed with a sense of humour.
B-side 'Calypso' has a lighter, poppier vibe, manging to create a musical summer even if in the dingiest of autumnal Scottish flats. Its lyrics are concerned with not wanting to go to school and there is a definite childish quality that may be slightly off-putting to listeners out of their teens. No-one can accuse Envelopes of taking life too seriously, and whether you find their innocent strummings cheering or annoying is purely personal preference. They nevertheless deserve to make a bigger impact on the music scene than they have up until this point.