“Coincide with heartbeats aligned, can this be forever?”
Sharptone newcomers LEVELS are set to make their official label debut this week with the impending release of their EP PULSE. The EP marks the start of a new chapter for the Arkansas-based quartet, who have released a slew of singles after recruiting Kolby Carignan to take over on vocal duties following the departure of the group’s original vocalist in 2020. LEVELS first appeared on my radar after a Spotify recommendation for their 2023 single “Paracosm”. Through that track, as well as the group’s other standalone singles leading up to it, my interest had been piqued enough that I was curious to see whether or not PULSE would be able to effectively carry on the momentum from there.
LEVELShits the ground running with their title track opener. All the markings of the identity the group has adopted for themselves are on full display with “PULSE”, from the electronic elements woven throughout the track, to the downtuned instrumentals, and Carignan swiftly switching between his poppy cleans and effective screams. Following track “BREED” further solidifies this sound the group has established. However, its charming lyricism such as “let’s get straight to the point and run for covers”, “I’ve been dying to breed” and “your body was made for me” firmly places the track in cringeworthy dirty talk territory, making it one I am unlikely to ever revisit.
“REALIGN” utilizes spacious instrumental sections to make way for Carignan leaning harder into his melodic side, though the roomy production inadvertently highlights the overproduced nature of his cleans. Screamed vocals and some instrumental heft help to break things up and balance the track out. “OPIUM OF MAN”, originally released as a single in late 2022, makes its resurgence as the penultimate track of PULSE. While Carignan branching out his range of vocals is to be appreciated, the monotonous spoken sections leave much to be desired, to the point where the higher octane instrumentals and chorus are unable to fully salvage things. Third single and closing track “SIREN HYMN” boasts some of the best lyricism and the catchiest vocal hooks across the EP. Additionally armed with an effective breakdown, the track helps LEVELS end things on a relatively strong note.
Electronic-tinged metalcore isn’t exactly hard to find these days. While there are certainly moments of interest scattered across PULSE’s runtime, it’s hard not to feel like LEVELS isn’t just retreading old ground in what is now an oversaturated scene. It’s hard for me to believe that the band that put out tracks like “Eon”, “Sisu”, and “Paracosm” is the same band releasing this EP. While it seems like the group has honed in on the sound they want with PULSE, moving away from their previous instrumentally-forward, progressive metalcore sound in favor of a more trendy, accessible, and formulaic sound has nullified the nuance from their music that had initially captured my attention. While I do generally enjoy poppier leanings in heavy music, I would love to see LEVELS return to form by finding some balance or happy medium between their older and newer sounds.
4/10
PULSE is set to release this Friday February 2nd via Sharptone Records. Links to pre-save the EP and to LEVELS’ merch store can be found here and here.