Rocksposure: ICHML Artist for the Month of October.
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 “A 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.
The excellently-named I Can Hear Myself Levitate has dropped a new EP, A City Submerged. While it does retain elements of the radio-friendly rock mashup sound I reviewed so favorably last May, ICHML has pushed its own boundaries in song construction since their last outing.
These four tunes skew much more toward a tension-filled post-hardcore (a la the soon-to-be-broken up The Felix Culpa). Even though the band has largely eschewed traditional v/c/v song structure (or at least masked it quite well), the poppier moments of the sound like the artier moments of AFI’s more recent albums. Opener “Saints and Converts” takes familiar sounds and spins them in delightfully unexpected ways, playing with audience expectations. “Empires” employs a similar tactic, although it does ratchet up to a huge ending with a whoa-oh male chorus. But by that point, it’s what you want to hear!
If you’re not into the emo/punk/post-hardcore sound ca. 2000-2006, you aren’t the audience for I Can Hear Myself Levitate. If you did come of age on dime-a-dozen emo/punk bands, you’ll love A City Submerged. At four tunes and 14 minutes, it’s exactly the right length to enjoy legitimately and fully (nostalgically or currently) without losing interest. I Can Hear Myself Levitate, like A Road to Damascus, is a band that reminds me why played-out sounds became overdone in the first place: when done well, those sounds can light me up with adrenaline.
ICHML would like to take a moment to dedicate “Home” off “A City Submerged” Our Sophomore E.P. to Our Fallen Family & Friends We have Lost in the Last Couple of Years! It’s been a hard journey for us loosing people close to us and as a band we have been able to hold each other up, to keep digging, to keep going because those we lost would of wanted it that way.
“Home” was a song we have had from a previous band a couple years ago that never had gotten close to being finished. We resurrected the song because the message it held was something very emotional for us. Due to a series of unfortunate events, it holds more of a clear message now and is something we felt we had to share!
We are happy to say in the very few moments we spent with our loved ones, close friends that their common sense & wisdom has become apart of the everyday philosophy we have added to our lives.
These inspirational people who we’ve lost have inspired ICHML to live every day as it is our last to the fullest and to cherish those around us, but with that being said
“We will see each other again, We Will be Coming home, You are not forgotten, you are remembered and that’s what keeps you alive in our hearts down to this very moment and the moments that are yet to come. You weren’t follower’s, You were Leader’s, You had your own Voice and those virtues are embedded in Us Forever and they will live as long as there is a fighting breath in Our Lungs and Fighting Beat In Our Hearts”
Your Voice Can’t Be Replaced:
Jim Bates, Eric Hernandez, Junior Hernandez, Maria Jorge, Paul Farris.
Hey no problem, Right back At ya! Just trying to make new friends on Tumblr, keep in touch! What’s ur name and where you from?
-ichml
Mar 30
Connect With Us & Levitate Yourself!
It’s been awhile since our last update! We like to thank everyone who came out to our past few shows! Just celebrated our 1 year anniversary as a band & since our first release of “What Is Left” E.P. Yes we turned a Year OLD :> Looking back since the start & now has been a rollercoaster :> , but well WORTH IT!
4.05.2011 Radio Appearance on Vocalo.org 89.5 fm ICHML Interview @ 7p.m.
Next Show @ SUB T. 4.06.2011 SO COME OUT!
We’ve been rehearsing for one of our last shows in April before we Record our next E.P. “A City Submerged”. We’ve got a couple shows lining up for Late May, June which we will be extending invites to other bands for slots on shows!
So if you are interested in playing with ICHML hit us up with an email w/info to get a show together to make it happen! icanhearmyselflevitate@gmail.com
Def. would like to thank Brian Emerson, Phillip Ramos, Teddy Bear Carlos Maeda for helping us get some video footage action from our last two events alongside Crystal Gonzalez who has been busting her tail to help ICHML w/photography! Big help and very Kool peeps and everyone who has been making the travel to every show. We have some really dedicated friends who always come out to have a good time!
This blog will be updated at the end April with some footage in the studio crafting the newest songs we are very excited to soon release In Late May & Debut On Air!
Stay tuned, and if you aren’t following us on tumblr, get an account to connect with us!
Overall, What Is Left is an impressive debut EP, especially for being self-produced. All tracks have strong foundations, intriguing lyrics and multiple changes in pace and dynamics, making for an interesting listen. Although this is not a genre I would normally listen to, I Can Hear Myself Levitate may have just turned me into one of their newest fans, as they have definitely done a fantastic job on this EP.
