Album Review: I Can Hear Myself Levitate - What Is Left EP

Chicago, a city glorified for its blues and jazz heritage and host to the annual alternative rock festival Lollapalooza. Chicago is more well known for producing big selling rock bands like Fall Out Boy, Rise Against and Alkaline Trio. Despite the strange name, I Can Hear Myself Levitate could possibly be the next big thing to come out of Chicago.

The album opens with 'Arrow on a Compass', which begins with a sudden gust of wind and the sea managing to shoot a cold shiver down the small of my back. The lead singer Chris Pacific whispers "Arrows on the compass point to you" over the top of a faint guitar. When the song eventually kicks in, it's ballsy. A perfect introduction.

The the next song 'Body Heat' could have easily have been taken from Anberlin's last album 'New Surrender', the song constantly moves from seductive verses into a killer chorus which is one of the catchiest things I've heard in a long while. It's the type of chorus that you would scream at the top of your lungs.

'Eskimo Kiss' has a very spastic riff that wouldn't be a stranger in a Modest Mouse song. The vocals in this song definitely sound a lot like they would belong on a Portugal the Man record but I feel that they are drowned out a bit by the rest of the band, especially during the verses. It is only in the last chorus that you can truly hear the passion in the vocalists voice.

'The Coldest Abyss in Your Heart' will actually jump out of your headphones and slap you across the face, where did that come from? People were laughing a second or two ago. The impact from this introduction is earth shattering but it doesn't seem to last for long, the instrumentation behind the verses is a little weak, maybe it could be beefed up a little bit with another guitar? Some kind of effect starts which sounded promising but it cuts out randomly. The bridge to this song is an interesting contrast in dynamic though, and it manages to go back into one last final run of the chorus which will still manage to hit you hard.

The riff to the last song, 'The Artifacts', is simplistic but extremely effective in this specific song. Chris Pacific's morose vocals are perhaps a highlight of this EP, even when they are strained, the passion still bleeds into this song. The lyrics are interesting and very reminiscent of a future apocalypse "It's the end of the world as we know it, and we have nothing to show". It has been this bands experimentation with different dynamics which has kept me interested in listening to this EP over and over.

'What is Left' is a stunning debut for this band considering it was locally produced with no label backing it. The artwork to it is also beautifully and matches the feeling that this album gives me. The only possible drawback is that I feel there needs to be more emphasis on background vocals, I can hear them but it's a faint whisper in my ear. I feel as if the band, as a unit, works extremely well and the chemistry between the four members is perfect.

4/5

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George Gadd