Levelload

Take the White Stripes, rip out the dead albatross and jam an angry black box into the hole. Add one post-punk Debbie Harry. Blend at 11 until your ears bleed. Serve Levelload hot.

One half Tokyo and the other half London, the duo that is Levelload combine and collaborate to bring a mash-up of various styles to their music. Tony Wade's no-nonsense guitar sound is a little classic new-wave while at the same time bringing in plenty of gritty, no-frills rock and roll. Mariko Doi's bass playing is the perfect match, and her up-front and confrontational vocal style also reinforces their overall in-your-face vibe. There's also plenty of electronic reinforcement, but this is no armchair trainspotting perfection. Instead, the drum machines and saw-waves seem to come from the Digital Hardcore school where "Riot sounds produce riots." While not exactly that raw, they don't seem to spend too much time fussing over the finer points.

The band spends equal time touring both Japan and the UK. Their current Flightpath Records label is based in Japan, yet they got their start on none other than the venerable Peel show in the UK. This duality of origin shows through in their music as well. Mariko's vocals are accented enough to add a unique flavor to her otherwise all English lyrics. The music mixes up electro-clash with distorted swamp-rock guitar. The band itself seems to be just as serious as they are tongue-in-cheek (see the video for "Yellow Fever" below), never taking themselves too seriously. The end result is indeed some seriously solid new-rock-electo-wave fun.

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ITUNES

HND in RNR



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Mariko Doi - Vocals, Bass
Tony Wade - Guitar

Albums:
Yellow Fever - 2008

Yellow Fever


I Know You Know


Live


Palookaville