parkinglot Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO We’re thrilled to announce the signing of Nor’Eastern upstarts LVL UP to what has been best described as a seemingly endless and punishing recording contract. Welcome to the family, fellas! Lead-off track ”Pain” is a lo-fi indie rock jammer from their forthcoming Sub Pop debut (LVL UP’s third album), Return To Love. The Mike Ditrio-produced record showcases LVL UP’s ability to write incredibly understated indie-pop classics. Pitchfork says of LVL UP: “Homespun, 1990s-indebted indie pop… A uniquely vulnerable songwriting voice makes LVL UP distinct.” The band is based out of New York, and members’ roots run deep into the DIY scene. (Their Evie Nagy-penned bio is below for your perusal.) Return To Love is available for pre-order now, and LP pre-orders through Sub Pop Mega Mart and independent retailers near you will receive the limited Loser Edition on orange creamsicle swirl vinyl (while supplies last). LVL UP have also announced a Fall tour, that includes dates with Bear vs Shark, Alex G and Eskimeaux. Details below. Edited July 13, 2016 by parkinglot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodmemory Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 had 2 cop. record rocks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dantheriver Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I've spent so much money this week. Guess sub pop is getting some too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tacosupremekohl Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Would never have guessed they'd end up on Sub Pop, but that's tight. i'll probably PO this through a local store. Stoked to finally see them in Madison! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesnoopy Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 so happy for them! might just wait to get this in store though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Beautiful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewberinger Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Yasssss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boops_popmarket Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Maybe I need more time with this new track. Their last record was my one of my favorite of the last few years and I really liked the messier feel of it. I hope things don't get too linear and streamlined on the new one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dkrtz Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Can't believe they just went sub pop that's crazy. So cool! Gonna catch them and this on the Alex G tour. bluesnoopy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dvv Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 holy shit what a label to land on, stoked for this bluesnoopy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelby Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 2 hours ago, rds said: Maybe I need more time with this new track. Their last record was my one of my favorite of the last few years and I really liked the messier feel of it. I hope things don't get too linear and streamlined on the new one. Do they still have three different songwriters/vocalists? I would never judge any single from these guys because every track feels so different. That being said I haven't listened yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downisthenewup87 Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Their last album was criminally overlooked. Love, love, love that Sub-Pop is the one that signed them. About time that they begun to rebuild their roster with young talent, and they are the perfect label for this band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIGMA_BALLZ Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Never heard of these dudes before but the single is tight...would like to find the hoodwinked lp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkinglot Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 (edited) I've always thought of LVL UP as basically being two different bands, even within one album. Songs like Black Honey/DBTS falling under the sloppy/fuzzed out pop/rock, and songs like Bro Chillers falling under beachy rock. I guess they also have super lofi stuff like the extra worlds ep. Either way, they are the best band and I doubt this will disappoint. Edited July 13, 2016 by parkinglot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boops_popmarket Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Anyone remember if SubPop charges immediately upon checkout or when the record ships? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boops_popmarket Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 22 minutes ago, rds said: Anyone remember if SubPop charges immediately upon checkout or when the record ships? The answer is "immediately upon checkout". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluesnoopy Posted July 27, 2016 Share Posted July 27, 2016 Not sure if anyone has posted about this but Dave Benton created a new label called the "Figure 2" Recording Company. He put Buttery Sprouts & Other Songs up on his bandcamp and tapes are still available (only a 100). Pretty good stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boops_popmarket Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 Another new song. It sounds like they're going in a different direction as a band than the one they were going down with Hoodwink'd and the 7" releases. I'm a bit bummed as it was nice to hear a fun, raw pop/grunge band that wasn't too concerned with sounding refined or streamlined. In the world of Matador/Merge/Sub Pop, that would have been a unique take on indie music, in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkinglot Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 new song. really cool article, especially the interview at the end when they touch on lyrics. http://www.thefader.com/2016/08/16/lvl-up-interview-sub-pop-return-to-love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkinglot Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 3 minutes ago, rds said: Another new song. It sounds like they're going in a different direction as a band than the one they were going down with Hoodwink'd and the 7" releases. I'm a bit bummed as it was nice to hear a fun, raw pop/grunge band that wasn't too concerned with sounding refined or streamlined. In the world of Matador/Merge/Sub Pop, that would have been a unique take on indie music, in my opinion. did you listen to the song? it sounds like a wonderful mess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkinglot Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) 7 minutes ago, rds said: Another new song. It sounds like they're going in a different direction as a band than the one they were going down with Hoodwink'd and the 7" releases. I'm a bit bummed as it was nice to hear a fun, raw pop/grunge band that wasn't too concerned with sounding refined or streamlined. In the world of Matador/Merge/Sub Pop, that would have been a unique take on indie music, in my opinion. did you listen to the song? it sounds like a wonderful, sloppy mess. Edited August 16, 2016 by parkinglot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boops_popmarket Posted August 16, 2016 Share Posted August 16, 2016 It sounds pretty measured to me. The structure of the song maintains its steady build and the volume on all the instruments fit very nicely, even when things get Messy™. The way the 'noisy' section sounds reminds me of some of the SubPop No Age records where you know things are going haywire but somehow it sounds controlled. I'm not a musician or sound engineer so I don't know the proper terminology but my analogy would be watching a war battlefield scene in a blockbuster movie where you can see close ups of the actors' grease makeup that is supposed to suggest dirt and then you see, very clearly in a static shot, a grenade explode and, once the explosion is done, you hear one of the actors yell a clear line of dialogue. It's depicting a 'messy' and 'chaotic' scene but it's not messy or chaotic. Hoodwink'd and the 7" releases would be closer to watching a war battlefield scene in a smaller movie where the camera is shaking, multiple explosions overlap, lines of dialogue are cut off, and the execution/method matches the messiness of the content. I never knew if a song would abruptly end or change course and some instruments would flare up or over-power others like if I was at a live show. All that said, I'm not arguing that the songs are bad. I'm just bummed that the parts of the band that I thought made them stand out overlap with the parts of the band that they want to shore up and move past. I bet this will be a solid SubPop album and that they are a better band than if they just kept cranking out the same stuff. I always grouped these guys with Happy Diving in my head since I found both of them around the same time a few years ago and they both announced new albums this year around the same time. I really like the minor tune-up Happy Diving did on their new album. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkinglot Posted August 16, 2016 Author Share Posted August 16, 2016 (edited) 8 minutes ago, rds said: It sounds pretty measured to me. The structure of the song maintains its steady build and the volume on all the instruments fit very nicely, even when things get Messy™. The way the 'noisy' section sounds reminds me of some of the SubPop No Age records where you know things are going haywire but somehow it sounds controlled. I'm not a musician or sound engineer so I don't know the proper terminology but my analogy would be watching a war battlefield scene in a blockbuster movie where you can see close ups of the actors' grease makeup that is supposed to suggest dirt and then you see, very clearly in a static shot, a grenade explode and, once the explosion is done, you hear one of the actors yell a clear line of dialogue. It's depicting a 'messy' and 'chaotic' scene but it's not messy or chaotic. Hoodwink'd and the 7" releases would be closer to watching a war battlefield scene in a smaller movie where the camera is shaking, multiple explosions overlap, lines of dialogue are cut off, and the execution/method matches the messiness of the content. I never knew if a song would abruptly end or change course and some instruments would flare up or over-power others like if I was at a live show. All that said, I'm not arguing that the songs are bad. I'm just bummed that the parts of the band that I thought made them stand out overlap with the parts of the band that they want to shore up and move past. I bet this will be a solid SubPop album and that they are a better band than if they just kept cranking out the same stuff. I always grouped these guys with Happy Diving in my head since I found both of them around the same time a few years ago and they both announced new albums this year around the same time. I really like the minor tune-up Happy Diving did on their new album. theres a good chance there will be those super fuzzed out haywire songs on the album still. hoodwink'd and space brothers had more controlled acoustic based songs as well. i just don't completely understand where you're coming from because they've always been writing structured ant controlled songs like bro chillers and ski vacation. they have 3 separate song writers. Edited August 16, 2016 by parkinglot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkinglot Posted August 18, 2016 Author Share Posted August 18, 2016 this is going to leak in the next few days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parkinglot Posted September 2, 2016 Author Share Posted September 2, 2016 Is anyone else listening to this? It's amazing, as expected. The only thing I am kind of bummed about is that they reused two songs from the 3 Songs 7". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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