LVL UP // SPACE BROTHERS
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.
…
