Counter Vinyl & CDs

Review: What is great pop music? Something that when you hear it sounds utterly alien and yet utterly familiar, something which lodges in your head in such a way that it feels like it's been there all along, a false memory syndrome of rhythm and harmony, a perfect recollection of the best sex you never had. Ladies and gents, please welcome Pop Levi. If you're not familiar with him yet you soon will be. A Prince-sized pixie, channelling Bolan and Hendrix, a wide-eyed John Lennon with an interest in magic and androgyny, the man could have few better calling cards than "Sugar Assault Me Now," a surreal and utterly heartfelt plea for some sweet, sweet loving. Opening up with rolling drums and hand claps before a filthy fuzz-bass riff is joined by Blueberry Hill-rhythmed guitar, Pop Levi takes this as a jump off point for him to yelp, bark and falsetto his plea for some seriously sticky skin-on-skin action. Check the extended version for a tune that promises to be a smash on indie rock dancefloors, where we fully expect emo-boys to be found humping the furniture and each other's legs and turning up the following week in a nice sparkly blouse they just picked up at Top Shop. When you've cleaned up your bodily fluids, check out b-side, "Cyan Moan" is a track where Levi delineates the links between bluegrass and psychedelic whimsy on this utterly beautiful, wide-eyed nursery rhyme. Throw in alternate versions of "Sugar Assault Me Now" and previous EP lead track, "Blue Honey" and "From The Day That You Were Born" and you have a larder full of finest quality high-calorie snacks.

Review: It's not every day you get to use the word 'cat' about a fellow human being. But then it's not every day you come across someone like Pop Levi, and he is one strange cat. Born in London, with musical roots in Liverpool, a stint playing with Ladytron and a home in Los Angeles, Pop Levi likes to describe what's good about pop music as "astral". His debut album, "The Return To Form Black Magick Party", is worthy of the term. Although the most obvious precursor of his sound might be Mark Bolan, listen carefully and you'll hear touches of everyone from Jack White, Prince and Hendrix to Dylan, Lennon and Beefheart in there. But rather than being any kind of eyebrow-raised pastiche, this is what Pop describes as "channelling" - an album of such complete conviction, flair and energy (plus a lorry load of hooks) that it is utterly irresistible.

Review: Pop Levi has led what one might describe as a "melodic" life. From childhood his life has been steeped in music. He took up piano at age 3, joined a gospel choir at 7, and started record collecting at 9 just prior to writing his first song. It was a precocious start for an artist who has proved to be a prodigious talent. This English born, LA based multi-instrumentalist was a founder member of avant-garde rock collective Super Numeri before embarking on a global roller coaster ride as bassist with electro pioneers Ladytron. All the while he's been perfecting his modern spin on rock and soul, releasing two singles on the Trons Invicta Hi-Fi label, and carefully crafting his debut solo album. September 2006 sees the release of his first EP on Counter Records. Drawing inspiration from such luminaries as Van Dyke Parks, Jimi Hendrix, Marvin Gaye and Syd Barrett, Levi creates his own brand of gloriously funky alt-rock, meticulously piecing together his kaleidoscopic sound from recordings he's compiled over a ten-year period. The roar of a motorcycle and the Bolan-esque swagger of title track "Blue Honey", kicks off this five track EP. Track 2 "A Style Called Crying Chic" sees Levi pay tribute to the sun drenched sounds of 60s west coast America before he struts his stuff on the Zeppelin-heavy guitar riffs of "Mournin' Light". Penultimate song "Baby Again" (Midnight Version) has a looser, more experimental feel, prior to more close-vocal harmonising and finger clicking beats from Levi on an alternate recording of album track "Skip Ghetto" (Echo Park version).