Envy Alo Celebrates The Release Of 'Ship It' At Denver's Lost Lake Lounge [Photos/Stream]

Up-and-coming funk outfit Envy Alo have released a new full-length studio album Ship It, and they celebrated the release with a sold-out, hometown show at Lost Lake Lounge in Denver, CO Saturday night.

Recorded at Evergroove Studio in Evergreen, CO over the course of 2019, Ship It is Envy Alo’s first full-length studio album since 2018’s Cruise Control and beautifully captures the band’s polished, eclectic sound. Envy Alo is a six-piece funk ensemble comprised of Callie Morrocco (vocals), Aaron Pettine (keys), Kevin Hinder (guitar/vocals), Kevin Supina (sax/vocals), Karl Summers (bass), and Nate Etter (drums), who together lead their audiences into uncharted, genre-defying territory. The eleven-track odyssey holds a groove and one’s attention, but dives between waves of soul, R&B, Afro-Cuban, drum & bass, blues, jazz, heavy rock, and of course funk, while still maintaining a cohesive final product. Supina says of the new record,

This album truly feels like a culmination of the last few years of the band’s evolution, growing from four members to six. The title track actually started as an instrumental a few years ago and had been shelved for a while, but we dusted it off, Nate wrote some lyrics, and we totally rearranged it. I think that really encapsulates the changes we’ve gone through. All six members of the band have writing credits on the album, and our time in the studio was a truly collaborative effort. We had been playing most of the material live for a while before we got to the studio, allowing the songs time to evolve and everyone to find their unique voice on everything. Brad also helped us immensely in refining and realizing the vision we had for the album.

Brad Smalling, owner of Evergroove Studio, engineered, mixed and mastered Ship It. The album also features guest musicians to create its full sound. Denver-based percussionist Will Trask (Great American Taxi, The High Hawks, Analog Son) is prominent on almost every track, with subtle layers of shaker and tambourine giving way to a handful of brilliant flashes on timbale, congas, and wood blocks. Taking cues from horn arrangements composed by Supina, the Mercenary Horns—brothers Mark and Matt Wilkolak—also put their stamp on the album with rich harmonies on trombone and trumpet respectively.

Listen to the full album below.

Envy Alo – Ship It

Next up, the band will play Snowstalk on January 25th supporting Magic Beans and Kyle Hollingsworth, then will head out on a Mountain West Tour through Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah and Colorado in March. Also, it was announced on Monday that Envy Alo will provide opening support for Ghost Light at the Ogden Theatre in Denver February 29th. Head to their website for tickets and a full list of dates.

Scroll down to check out a gallery of images from the album release party for Ship It from Envy Alo at the Lost Lake Lounge in Denver on Saturday courtesy of photographer Tara Gracer.

Setlist: Envy Alo | Lost Lake Lounge | Denver, CO | 1/18/20

Set: Begs… [1] > Wind Tunnel [1] > Only Way, Ship It [1], Railroad Boogie [1] > …&… [1] > Give in to the Light [1], Don’t Wanna Wait, Be Good, Trust [1], Crafty, Anker, Once [1], …Achin’ [1]

[1] With Mark Wilkolak on trombone and Matt Wilkolak on trumpet