I Can Hear Myself Levitate - "A City Submerged" - ROCKSPOSURE.....Be Heard

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"A City Submerged" Album Review

Article By Chris Brach

Once an area of the country gets a taste of Rocksposure, it seems to start spreading like wildfire.  Last year New York was the market that was exploding with Rocksposed artists, this year the overwhelming response has been from the Illinois rock scene as word of our site continues to spread.  The latest Illinois band to join the Rocksposed ranks is Chicago’s I Can Hear Myself Levitate, a band that can only be described as ‘on the rise’ following the recent release of their EP “A City Submerged”.  

“A City Submerged” is an emotional four song EP that is packed with driving rhythms and unadulterated energy.  As I Can Hear Myself Levitate set out to record their sophomore EP the goal was to further evolve their sound into a more polished and dynamic record than their debut EP “What is Left?” (Which was more than solid in its own right).  Assembled under the guise of a concept album, “A City Submerged” revolves around the story of a reckless leader who is running the city into the ground.  ICHML’s motive was to produce an album that was both explosive and polished, while not forgoing any of the raw energy that the band has become known for.  Long story short, they nailed it.

Beginning with the slower methodical sounds of “Saints”, “A City Submerged” starts in a world of distortion.   As Chris Pacific asks “Who are you to cast the first stone?”  the song shifts into an explosion of cymbals and screaming vocals.   Albert Amey’s guitar clearly makes its presence known during the opening track from the intro through to the fast licks that end the song.  His six string is again dominant but gets a bit grittier as it leads into the second track “Sunns”.  With a clean, fast beat behind them, ICHML picks up speed considerably as Pacific screams “We’ll reach until we can’t reach no more”.  

“Empires” brings a change of tone to the album as it is more subdued than the other three tracks (At Least the first half).  It picks up some angry screams and cymbals towards the end, but it mostly resides in a slower paced world that captures the dire situation that is being lyrically laid out. “Empires were made to fall...............just tell me I’m not the only one that made it out alive.”

Rounding out the EP is “Home”, an urgently paced track that makes up the last revolt in fighting the power of the city.  Garrett Galayda lays down a great bassline while the guitars of Amey and Jay Lovell fly.  The EP may only be four tracks, but it is a great journey that is made considerably more memorable thanks to the concept they applied to it.  It’s a great progression musically and lyrically, which is exactly what they set out to do.

Not to be missed or overlooked would be the bands debut EP, “What is Left?”. Using the same building tempos, musically it follows much of the same structure as “City Submerged”.  “The Artifacts”, “Arrows on a Compass”, and “The Coldest Abyss of Your Heart” will all fill the void if the four tracks of their recently released EP leave you wanting more.  

I Can Hear Myself Levitate are only two EPs into their musical career, but they seem to be onto something.  They’ve embraced a great Progressive Indie Rock song writing formula that suits their skills and playing style very well and they took it to the next level with this concept album.  I Can Hear Myself Levitate is on the rise, Rocksposure can’t wait to hear what’s next.

Both EPs are available on iTunes (Click Here)