Eugene Levy - Here's To Someone
New pop-punk from Iowa’s Eugene Levy, who recently dropped their debut EP – Here’s To Someone.
Eugene Levy
The band, hailing from Cedar Rapids and Muscatine, bills themselves as “writing jams and slamming Hamm’s since 2019,” and is made up of Brian Wllson, Brent Arnold, Nick Himes, and Brian Martinez.
Once again, I discovered this EP by surfing through the new arrivals on Bandcamp, which, unfortunately, doesn’t always include much viable information about the bands. So I Googled the band and found their Facebook page, which didn’t offer much data.
Anyway, the EP comprises four-tracks, starting off with "Cause the ice melts and then it's like second drink,” opening on muscular dirty guitars and a tight beat. I love the pulsing stutter of the guitar and the potent throb of the bass line. The highlight of the track is the lead vocals, a tight slightly nasal voice with just the right skater-punk inflection. Background harmonies add beau coup reflective tonal dimensions.
The highlight of the track is the lead vocals, a tight slightly nasal voice with just the right skater-punk inflection.
“Vander Veer Park” rides stellar percussive effects and a delicious drone-like guitar tone topping the radiant pulsations and shimmers from the bass and rhythm guitar. The flow of this tune is ferociously infectious, made even more infectious by the grand voice of the lead vocalist, who really has it going on. A tasty breakdown full of spectacular drum fills and thrumming guitars adds shifting sonic surfaces.
“Sundays Are For Rallies” is the standout track on the EP because of its Offspring-like energy and washes of spiraling guitar colors. A rumbling breakdown culminates on a skintight supra-dirty guitar that infuses the tune with intractable flavors.
“Like Father, Like Son” opens on lightly strumming guitars flowing into a measured tune full of powerful tom-toms, giving the music deep penetrating resonance. The harmonics mousse up to wall-of-sound levels as the tune proceeds, glimmering on sheens of pungent color.
Eugene Levy produces scrumptious pop-punk on this EP, full of galvanizing melodies, throbbing rhythms, and enormously yummy vocals.
