INTRODUCING YOU TO BANDS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW, BUT TOTALLY SHOULD.
LVL UP
Every time I saw the name LVL Up, I mistakenly assumed the band was going to be similar to The Advantage or Megadriver. One of any number of bands that take video game music and transform them into rock, pop or metal. Of course I dig those bands, but there’s only so many indie versions of Metroid one can take. My mistake in judging the band by the name turns out to be a regrettable one as they’ve quickly become one of my favorite new discoveries. Promises of arcade nostalgia I had assumed would materialize are instead blown away by perfect low-fi grunge blended with poetry and storytelling that evokes The Hold Steady or Fleet Foxes if they were bludgeoned by Japandroids. Were I to discover them in the mid nineties through the early 2,000’s their sound would have seamlessly fit in with disparate scenes both established and emerging. Very eclectic sounds and themes are represented from one song to the next making them as exciting on the 12th listen as they were on the first. Real solid craftsmanship like theirs is fantastic to come upon and I only wish I had been listening longer.
Notable Songs
Hidden Driver
I Feel Extra Natural
Pain
Annie’s A Witch
https://youtu.be/_KDxz_0VVNw
Five Men On the Ridge
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