Review: LVL UP - Hoodwink'd
By Chris Reinbold, Contributor
[Double Double Whammy; 2014]
Rating: 6.5/10
Key Tracks: “Stoned Alone,” “Soft Power”
Who remembers the '90s?! It was a time when indie rock and grunge reigned supreme and many musicians only knew three or four chords. Purchase, NY indie rock outfit LVL UP takes us back to that time. LVL UP released its first full-length, Space Brothers, on Evil Weevil in 2011 and 2014 sees the band returning with its second album, Hoodwink’d.
LVL UP opens the record with a noisy, riffy cut, “Angels from Space.” After this short ditty, not even clocking in at a full two minutes, comes what is the album’s strongest track, “Stoned Alone.”
The tune begins with a quick snare roll, the remainder of the band joining in seconds later. The higher-pitched of the album’s vocalists sings a layered, nearly atmospheric vocal melody over infectiously riff-oriented guitars. The song slides into a chorus of “Oohs” over the top of a slick lead guitar. While not offering a groundbreaking song structure, this track does possess a hummable guitar line that sticks in your head like fresh gum on the underside of an old school desk.
“Soft Power” is the next song worth noting. A vocal that can actually be understood begins the track: “My friend Ryan / Offered good advice / So I took a slice / And sailed through the mellow skies.” A downplayed guitar chord progression backs up the lyrics until the chorus kicks in.
The vocal is then joined by thin but captivatingly trippy guitar leads. A little past the one-minute mark, a slightly oscillating guitar solo kicks up the energy with a sound not dissimilar from what may be heard on a Dinosaur Jr. album. By the end, it is next to impossible not to nod your head to the beat with how up-tempo this track is is.
In the few years between albums the band has upgraded its production quality, however minimal the bump may be. The instrumentation isn't as soaked in reverb and the vocals are not nearly as distant as they were on the previous record.
This is both a blessing and a curse. Although the vocal presence is more prominent on this album, they occasionally get buried in the mix because of the noisy guitar and fuzzed-out bass. The higher vocals, sometimes reminiscent of the Pixies, make a strong impression and are easier to pick out than the lower mumble.
On occasion the album can feel redundant; the songwriting doesn’t always incorporate diverse elements and influences, though there are some flecks of folk and surf rock inspired passages. Although only one track surpasses the three-minute mark, some of the songs can drag--the verse-chorus-verse-chorus song structure is not always enough.
While the album is not pushing any boundaries, it is a decent indie release and sees the band improving its production quality, which was desperately needed. Space Brothers sounded like it was recorded in a tin can.
