Most bands hate it when writers play spot-the-influences—understandably (and rightfully) so. But LVL UP, playing Sunday at Chop Suey, are not most bands.
Formed by college buddies in 2011 who nestled into a tight-knit community of DIY artists in Brooklyn, the quartet has been pumping out unstoppably catchy lo-fi pop-rock for the past few years, sometimes on their own Double Double Whammy record label and sometimes for others.
Return to Love, however, is LVL UP’s first release for Sub Pop, which means more people will hear it and think of Neutral Milk Hotel, Built to Spill, the Microphones, and Pavement, among others. And that doesn’t bother the band one bit.