LEVY
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Click here to see the LEVY video "On The Dance Floor" in Quicktime format. |
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Click here to see the LEVY video "Rotten Love" in Quicktime format. |
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Click here to see the LEVY video "Wednesday" in Quicktime format. |
James Levy - frontman of New York rock band LEVY- has an onstage swagger from the Billy Bragg school of rock, as the band offers punk-sized beats and stripped-back guitars.
But the singer’s Morrissey-esque croon and his heartfelt lyrics betray his tough-guy stance. He’s really a silky-voiced bitter dreamer, whose passion is reflected in his songs.
“Rotten Love,” the title track of the band’s debut disc, has all the wonderful catchiness of a silly pop song, but its bouncy waters run deep: “I think about you and what you’ve done. I think about you and what you’ve become.” It’s a love song about hate. And, a hate song about love.
A 24-year-old with a lot to say about romance - the fickleness of love in “Matthew,” the nasty distrust heard in the Pogues-punky “In the Woods” and the Smiths-onian sing-song-er “You Be Sweet,” the hopeful love of the charming “Rector Street” and the Mrs. Robinson-ish proposals in the guitar-heavy, piano-laden “On the Dance Floor.”
But he doesn’t whine - or preach. LEVY tears moods down to the basic elements, and its hook-filled verses propel the songs along.
The foursome may be the new kids on Avenue A, but they can easily play in the backyard with stalwarts of New York’s revitalized post-punk scene.
As a regular performer at the East Village’s Sidewalk Café, he met bassist James Broughel, and guitarist Matthew Daniel Siskin, who was drawn to the beauty of Levy’s reverb-filled tunes.
Drummer Mike Jones, , introduced himself to Broughel when he was spinning an unlikely Modern Lovers song at an awful “disco-ball club.” the two became friends and, eventually, bandmates.
Jones was drawn to the idea that Levy wasn’t attempting to just jump on the bandwagon of the established New York scene.
“His songs are fresh and full of heart,” says Jones. “When I first heard them, I didn’t think he’s trying to do this, or do that. I had to wash my immediate cynicism away.”
Chemistry is chemistry and these guys have it. They also have respect for each other and the desire.
“I want 13-year-old kids to be able play these songs,” he says. “The chords are simple.” That said, he admits he adds unexplainable notes to the chords as he plays along, so no one can really replicate what he does.
With their diverse influences, LEVY can sound invitingly familiar. But the personal touches give the band its unique edge. Just when you think you know what’s coming, everything is new again. And that’s LEVY.
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