I couldn’t find much about the Levi’s on an internet search, but from a facebook page written mostly in Dutch, it appears that they’re a rock band from The Hague. Note to bands: having the same name as a major consumer brand makes it hard for a fan to find your internet presence via Google. For instance “The Diet Pepsi’s”, as cute as it is, might not be the best idea. “Changing Tires” is the bands fun little introduction to the world. Behind the fun, though, you can hear a band that might just have the right sound to really make a splash.
The basic template here is guitar based garage rock. They declare this aggressively on opener “Foxy” which could be a song from any one of a million northern European garage bands. As the EP unfolds for the rest of its grandiose 16 minutes, however, they distance themselves from that genre with a modern angular riffing style and danceability that makes them more than mere punky retro rockers. Smartly, they introduce this delicately through the song selection. If their repertoire is as diverse as the EP I think they can hold on to the underground rock folks while still having a Franz Ferdinand – like appeal to the ladies.
The dance rock sound is made known slowly through the EP, straight rock opener “Foxy” gives way to very slightly more left field “Can’t Stop”, until it’s the main theme in the second half. For me, that means I can occasionally find the second half a little maudlin. But I’m a hell of a lot closer to an underground rock type than I am to a lady.
I am a lucky man. My wife will happily throw on Kiss or the Hellacopters on the stereo. Usually she will demand it. But I’m sure there are far less fortunate men out there with musical tastes like mine, and don’t have a woman that is so inclined. Perhaps the Levis might present you with a reasonable middle ground.
