The term “slacker rock” implies a certain lack of effort, and it does seem as if LVL UP simply stumble across gorgeous melodies without really trying sometimes. But it takes a lot of love and care to craft a song as subtly gorgeous as “The Closing Door”, a mid-tempo banger that sounds like the band got caught daydreaming in the midst of a mosh pit.
Or walking dazed through a forest, as the case appears to be in the song’s new video above. Directed and produced by Robert Kolodny, the clip features a young protagonist who climbs a tree to find something entirely unexpected at the top. It’s a pretty good metaphor for LVL UP’s career arc, which began with some pretty good Pavement worship but has since morphed into something more intoxicatingly fuzzy and melodic than we could have ever predicted.
The latest peak in that career arc comes with the release of the band’s Sub Pop debut, Return to Love, on September 23rd. For more on LVL UP, check out our CoSign interview from earlier this month.
LVL UP 2016 Tour Dates:
09/22 – Burlington, VT @ Arts Riot ~
09/23 – Durham, NH @ University of New Hampshire
09/24 – New York, NY @ Market Hotel %
09/25 – Philadelphia, PA @ PhilaMOCA
09/28 – New Haven, CT @ Bar
09/29 – New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom ^
09/30 – Kingston, NY @ BSP Kingston
10/11 – Minneapolis, MN @ Dagger
10/14 – Missoula, MT @ Palace Lounge
10/15 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
10/16 – Olympia, WA @ Track House
10/17 – Seattle, WA @ The Black Lodge
10/18 – Portland, OR @ Analog Cafe
10/20 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill ^
10/21 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill ^
10/22 – Pomona, CA @ VLHS
10/23 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Echoplex ^
10/24 – Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge
10/26 – Denver, CO @ Hi Dive
10/28 – Bloomington, IN @ The Void
10/29 – Gambier, OH @ Kenyon College
10/30 – Louisville, KY @ Zanzabar *
11/01 – Nashville, TN @ The High Watt *
11/02 – Birmingham @ The Syndicate Lounge *
11/03 – New Orleans, LA @ Siberia *
10/04 – Austin, TX @ TBA
10/05 – San Antonio, TX @ The Paper Tiger
11/06 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links *
11/08 – Kansas City @ Davey’s Upstairs *
11/09 – Omaha, NE @ Milk Run *
11/10 – Madison, WI @ The Frequency *
11/11 – Chicago, IL @ Subterranean *
11/12 – Lansing, MI @ The Blind Pig *
~ = w/ Eskimeaux
% = Record Release Show w/ Ovlov and Vagabon
^ = w/ Bear Vs Shark
* = w/ Alex G and Brandon Can’t Dance
