ALBUM REVIEW: Levara – Levara

Love and the sentimentality it encompasses provides an inexhaustible wealth of musical material. At the crux, love is unpredictable, exhilarating, and to be blunt, love sucks sometimes. Navigating difficult waters is the good ship LEVARA with their self-titled debut on May 14th. Jules Galli (vocals), Trev Lukather (guitar), and Josh Devine (drums) serve up a ten song slab of soul slicing rock. Impeccable solos, infectious beats, and vocals we’ll mimic for days bring rock to life.

Leading single Automatic, while not the opener, sets the precedent for the album as a whole. It feels like BOSTON on ecstasy. Ringing basslines dominate the verses, dictating the song’s swagger. The soundscape of slick, neon lit bars and tight dance floors is delectable. Lukather‘s solo sways to the beat of Devine‘s floor-filler drums. Galli’s vocals filter through the noise, mirroring the feel good time of the capsule. Automatic is an “instant made of madness” we wish would last forever.

Though they’ve been operating for a short time, LEVARA feels organic. Entwining three different walks of life into one cohesive unit is time consuming. Nothing about this band feels rushed or forced. LEVARA could pull the card of working with ONE DIRECTION or living with TOTO‘s Steve Lukather. The grandstanding isn’t needed when they have merits of their own out of those monolithic shadows. Everyone has a role to play, each as important as the other.

A soundtrack of raining guitars set the tone for soul shattering Ever Enough. Ghosts of one sided relationships use Galli as a conduit. “Am I wasting my time loving you?” haunts the listener’s past and present self. Galli’s vocals sound morose in their pleas for validation. At one time or another, everyone’s encountered a partner they’ll never be enough for. Exposing this vulnerability with surgical precision has the listener at LEVARA‘s mercy.

The band’s humanity makes the album relatable. Across the board, the record is a catalogue of sentiment. Just A Man confronts a person’s shortcomings to the tune of string skipping solos. Well rounded harmonies sticking the knife in further. Latest single Ordinary’s cheerful melodic bounce sounds almost uncharacteristic yet somehow belongs. Can’t Get Over‘s upbeat heartbreak taps into the listener’s psyche and extracts it like a lumbar puncture. With that in mind, Ordinary‘s happiness is saccharine to the point of nausea in comparison.

The strength of LEVARA is in their emotional vulnerability. “I allowed you to walk all over me because I loved you” opens stinging ballad Allow. A chronicle of letting go of relationships which no longer serve, the song is sweet and simple. Less is more for the trio. Yet Allow sounds massive in this simplicity. Lukather’s solo takes us to the clouds above as it represents growing through what you’re going through. LEVARA flourish in their anguish. Galli’s smooth vocals as he grabs those high notes is divine.

LEVARA‘s debut effort has all the ingredients for a cocktail to binge on. It’s an album full of nuances that will bubble to the surface with each listen. This emotional decadence is one to indulge in time and time again with zero guilt.

Rating: 8/10

Levara is out now via Mascot Records.

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