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Brit-bred, L.A.-based Pop Levi could’ve saved a couple of words in his verbose title and called his slick, swaggering debut Tight Pants & Eyeliner. The Byrds-coiffed cosmic oddball – a Ladytron hanger-on whose philosophy and aesthetic hark back to the paisley-patterned line between love and Haight – has concocted a solid slab of psych-glam rock that veritably oozes pheromones, from the “honey in my pants” on outer-space doo-wop tune Pick-Me-Up Uppercut to the squeezin’ and teasin’ clap ‘n’ roll of Blue Honey. But unlike, say, Mika, Levi pulls off his flamboyant persona because he has the meticulously structured songs to carry it. For every tripped-out whimsical tangent that includes bird chirps and burbles, Levi offers a wallop of sinewy guitar riffs and wheezing Farfisa, matching his retro hard-on with instrumentation and arrangements that do justice to his inspirations. La-la-lovely.
Pop Levi glams up Outside’s CMW showcase Friday (March 9) at Lee’s Palace.