Since their formation by Luke Pettipole in Ames in 2001, The Envy Corps has gained huge popularity and notoriety in Iowa - and thanks in part to an opening spot on The Killers Fall 2006 tour - across the country. Fans everywhere are eagerly awaiting The Envy Corps’ turn at the 80/35 Music Festival this summer in Des Moines. 

The original band members met and bonded over a love of British music from the early 1990’s and became heavily influenced by that sound. Seems fitting then that the band first gained label attention from across the Atlantic. Before long, an A&R rep from Vertigo, a Mercury Records imprint, came knocking in Des Moines to sign them, with plans to develop a British fan base before going full throttle on the American public. 

The Envy Corps has a brooding, layered sound with impassioned vocals and diverse, sometimes-twisted lyrics and subject matter (Sylvia Plath, anyone?). The overall effect, however, manages to be anything but dark or depressing. On the band’s website, www.theenvycorps.com, Pettipole discusses his use of music as therapy, saying he’s not always sure where the darkness comes from, but that “it’s better out than in.”  
 

The band’s newly released EP, Kid Gloves, put out on their own record label, Tempo Club, includes five brand new tracks and is a teaser for their upcoming album, Palawan Scops/I Hate My Host Family. The release date is yet to be set. The band’s first full album, Dwell, is currently available digitally, but due to unforeseen, major label red tape, fans are still waiting for the tangible version. The band is also featured on the soundtrack for the hit comedy, Run Fatboy Run.