Pop Levi - Never, Never Love (Album)
So, here’s the question: if you’re ‘cool’, can you get away with being rubbish? The answer, of course, is a resounding ‘yes’.
Take Bill Clinton for example. How did the President of such a conservative country get re-elected after having sex with his secretary’s mouth? Because Bill Clinton is cool, that’s why. This brings me to Pop Levi and his album Never, Never Love. Ok, so while his collection of 3 minute, tongue in cheek pop/rock/funk tracks certainly isn’t awful, the whole album is soaked in a ‘if you are cool you’ll get that I’m being ironic….but I’m not’ sort of smugness that should have Kate Moss queuing up for the chance to snort copious amounts of coke with him backstage at the Glastonbury Festival. Fans will, quite rightly, be saying ‘whoa man, lay off the Pop, get off the Pop’s back’ etc and fair enough too because he really isn’t bad. His ‘Supergrass’-esque tracks Oh God (What Can I Do?) and the album opener Wannamama are fine examples of rock/pop, fun throw away songs with their guitar driven verses and hooky choruses.
Pop Levi also shows his unashamed adoration for Ween like melody shifts on I’m Going To Love You Straight and Semi-Babe which are both not too bad, really. And, let’s face it, there are a host of bands who aren’t half as interesting as Ween that you could try and impersonate. His next imitation is Everything and Finally which sounds so much like Prince that I don’t see the point of not calling it ‘I love Prince so very, very much and here is my tribute to him’. It sounds alright, but personally, I would just go out and get yourself a copy of Prince and be done with it. That way you can avoid those pesky conversations with family and friends where they ask “Is this Prince?” and you say “No, it isn’t”.
But really, it is on tracks like Call The Operator and Mai’s Space that Mr Levi combines his quirky sound effects, dreamy vocal melodies and his obvious love of music to produce something actually worth listening to. Call The Operator even has a telephone keypad solo in it that somehow manages to not sound too contrived, which is no easy feat. The last two tracks Calling me Down and Fountain of Lies also hint at an artist who is quite talented in his own right and has no need to hide behind the sounds of other bands that he quite clearly loves. Basically, Never, Never Love is an album that has some good moments but ultimately ends up being a bit too smart for itself. So, the question is this: is Pop Levi ‘cool’ enough to produce an album of such hit and miss quality and get away with it? Maybe. But he’s no Bill Clinton.
