LVL UP was an American

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

band from

Purchase, New York Purchase is a hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set ...

, United States.

History

LVL UP formed in 2011 at SUNY Purchase as a recording project between Mike Caridi, Dave Benton, and their friend Ben Smith, with the original intention of releasing a split cassette with Nick Corbo's then-solo material. They instead released their debut album, ''Space Brothers'' via Evil Weevil Records, as one band, and Greg Rutkin joined shortly afterwards for the group's first show. Smith left the band for personal reasons just before the release of second album ''Hoodwink'd'', a joint release on Caridi and Benton's label

Double Double Whammy Double Double Whammy is an independent record label founded by Dave Benton and Mike Caridi in October 2011 whilst studying at SUNY Purchase, a liberal arts college in New York state. History Double Double Whammy was founded by Dave Benton and Mi ...

and Exploding in Sound. In 2016, the band's third LP ''Return to Love'' was released by

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

. The album received favorable reviews with comparisons being drawn to the works of Dinosaur Jr. and Pavement. On June 11, 2018, the band announced they were retiring the project after their fall tour. Their last show was September 28 in New York City.

Band members

*Mike Caridi – guitar, vocals *Dave Benton – guitar, vocals *Nick Corbo – bass, vocals *Greg Rutkin – drums * Ben Smith – guitar

Discography

Studio albums *''Space Brothers'' (2011) *''Hoodwink'd'' (2014) *''Return to Love'' (2016) EPs *''Extra Worlds'' (2013) *''Three Songs'' (2015) Splits *LVL UP / Porches 7" (2013) *LVL UP / Krill / Ovlov / Radiator Hospital 7" (2014) *LVL UP / Frankie Cosmos 7" (2018)

References

{{Authority control Musical groups from New York (state) Musical groups established in 2011 Musical groups disestablished in 2018 Lo-fi music groups Run for Cover Records artists 2011 establishments in New York (state) Exploding in Sound artists