Envy & Other Sins was a four-piece band from Birmingham, England, who came to fame by winning Channel 4's nationwide talent show, mobileAct unsigned. They were the winners of the show, on which they won a £60,000 record contract with A&M Records. The contract allowed them to release one album and two singles. Their first single, "Highness", was released on 3 March 2008, and their debut album, We Leave at Dawn, was released on 31 March 2008.

Envy & Other Sins
Envy & Other Sins performing in February 2006 (L-R: Jarvey Moss, Ali M. Forbes, Mark E. Lees)
Envy & Other Sins performing in February 2006
(L-R: Jarvey Moss, Ali M. Forbes, Mark E. Lees)
Background information
OriginBirmingham, England
GenresEmo, industrial, alternative, punk, pop punk
Years active2004–2009
LabelsA&M, Loog, Gentlemen Prefer
Past membersAli M. Forbes (vocals/guitar)
Jarvey Moss (synth)
Mark E. Lees (bass)
Jim "McDrum" Macaulay (drums)

On 1 July 2009, the band announced they were to split up,[1] with Jim Macaulay becoming the drummer for Eliot Sumner, Emmy the Great and The Stranglers during the next decade.[2]

Musical style

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Writing about the band in November 2006, British music magazine NME described their songs as "catchy in the extreme, with sweet harmonies, wicked hooks and choruses a-go-go".[3]

Discography

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Albums

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Year Album details
2008 We Leave at Dawn
  • Released: 31 March 2008
  • Label: Polydor
  • Format: CD

Singles

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Year Title Chart peak positions Album
UK
[4]
2005 "Prodigal Son" Non-album single
2007 "Man Bites God" Non-album single
2008 "Highness" 65 We Leave at Dawn
"—" denotes a release that did not chart.

Demo songs

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  • "Man Bites God"
  • "Step Across"
  • "Talk to Strangers"
  • "Tomorrow"
  • "(It Gets Harder to Be a) Martyr"
  • "Words Fail"
  • "Almost Certainly Elsewhere"
  • "The Company We Keep"

References

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  1. ^ [1] Archived 19 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Jim Macaulay". Active Music.
  3. ^ Phull, Hardeep; Smyth, Cassie (25 November 2006). McNicholas, Conor (ed.). "Radar Special". NME. London: IPC Ignite!: 16. ISSN 0028-6362. OCLC 60624023.
  4. ^ "The Official Charts Company – Envy & Other Sins". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
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