LVL UP: Three songs (Ep, 2015)

Lo! Lifting fog reveals a cloaked figure in crooked moonlight and it is shown -- The Closing Door -- the Blur of spirit passing through -- Proven Water Rites burning effigies of past selves -- demonstrations from beyond a lifting veil. First, the listener dims the lights, burning all candles found within the dwelling. With eyes open toward the ceiling, the listener feels dull heat from the candles in front of them. Eyes closed now, the listener begins to regulate their breathing and in time presses play on their device. Eyes open again, the listener reaches their hands to hover above the nearest flame for the duration of the first passage. The listener stares directly into candle's flame, regulating their breathing. At the dawning of the second tune, the listener lowers their hands to hold and protect the candle in front of them. A new kind of light is shown now, and the listener's thoughts may begin to wander & blur, but they continue to stare. At the end of the second passage, the listener blows out all of the candles without hesitation. In near darkness now, the listener is left to sit, breathing the remnants of fire and thoughts that drift about the room. This is the final song. Out now via Double Double Whammy & Run For Cover Records.

 

LVL UP: Hoodwink´d (2014)

"Skater slackboard hunk-punks from Brooklyn, Philadelphia pull through again with their crooked take on post-2007's Smashing Pumpkins meets the coked out vibes of the "what-if-Pavement-were-from-the-70s" reunion revival of yesteryear, servin' up a dash of what's better known as THIS side of singer Greg Ruthking's jizzed out stoner fantasy mind." (If It Be Your Will)

LVL UP: Hoodwink´d (2014)

Grunge-Pop de alta intensidad

Lvl Up: Space brothers (2012)

"I would be so embarrassed if the dudes in LVL UP were to see the play count of their debut album SPACE BROTHERS in my iTunes; they’d probably think that I was obsessed with them. Come to think of it, I probably am. I featured the NY band as my inaugural post on PORTALS, included a track of theirs on my guest mix for Matinée As Hell, and now I’m finally getting around to sharing them here.
Had it not been technically released in October of last year, SPACE BROTHERS would sit uncontested as my favorite album of 2012, no question. It’s a stellar album of rambunctious and slightly nostalgic guitar pop with hooks so catchy I find myself humming them in the shower. If I was forced to cite one con of the album it would be that some of the songs are painfully short. I can’t really even say it’s a negative thing though, because each one of these thirteen tracks feels like a complete yet concise thought. To add anything to them would be overstating.
At its absolute best, SPACE BROTHERS is an intensely catchy amalgam of styles that has been ground down into a series of shining gems in a basement somewhere in Purchase, NY. The level of variety and the way that the tracks play on each other makes it almost impossible to single one out. Really the only proper way to listen to it is from start to finish. It’s currently being offered as a free download on the band’s site, so if you go ahead and listen to it I think you’ll find that I’m not overselling it. It really is that good.
SPACE BROTHERS saw a modest cassette release late last year on the band’s own label Double Double Whammy. I missed the boat on grabbing a tape, but the good news is that the album is getting a wider release thanks to Philadelphia label Evil Weevil. The first 50 orders will come on green vinyl and will include “a mix cd of my favorite club hits of 2011 and a bunch of promotional materials (posters, stickers, bottle openers, pins, buttons).” Whoa baby. Go grab one" (cactus-mouth.tumblr.com)