Paste
TimeOut New York
Other Music
It's a good time to be a ukulele. What is it about that so little four-stringed instrument that seems to beg self-deprecating fellows with dour singing voices, to coo their
lovely laments on you? Call Stephin Merritt a rockist, a racist -- w'ever -- but after listening to guys like Beirut, or (my personal fave) Jens Lekman, or now Michael Leviton, it's hard not to call him a visionary at the very least.
Merritt even realized that if you're gonna sing songs on a uke, you surely also have to don a straw hat while doing so. (He did wear one at some point right?) And now, of course, Lekman, and Leviton have made the straw hat the must have accessory for lonely boys in 2006.
Straw hat or no straw hat, there is no denying the brilliance of Michael Leviton's perfectly titled debut, My Favorite Place to Drown . The cover sticker says that Michael "sings the loneliest songs," but don't let that put you off. Of course, it's a cliché -- but as sure as G7 chords sound good resolving into D chords, Leviton's snarky uke-inspired lullabies will make you laugh from crying. Or something like that. Plus, like any modern uke balladeer must have, Leviton's got a knack for amazing song titles -- one after the other -- "Summer's the Worst," "I'm in Love with the Tip of Your Icebergs," "If Sense Were Really Common." However, as modern as his wit gets, at his heart Leviton's a classicist. Just like Merritt's tunes, half these songs could be by Rogers and Hart. And the production from Rainer Maria's Kyle Fischer only helps to make that point -- it's all old timey strings, and brass, upright bass, and soft percussion. There are even some ladies who stop by to duet with our man. One gets the impression that Michael won't be so lonely after some more ladies hear these tunes. Which is too bad, cause I'll be damned if this isn't one of the most pleasant surprises of the year so far. A summer record, with a broken heart, and a glass of lemonade -- a little too sweet, but hey, at least it's cold.
Other Music
Creative LoafingMichael Leviton plays Wed., May 3, at the Variety Playhouse with They Might Be Giants.
When an act has the seal of approval from John Linnell and John Flansburgh, the prolific pranksters of They Might Be Giants, you can bet the artist is truly unique. Over the years, the Giants have handpicked offbeat opening acts. With a roster that includes singer/songwriter Freedy Johnston and the pop-prog You Were Spiraling, the list is diverse. And Leviton -- opening TMBG's spring tour -- is no different.
Leviton calls his craft "surf music," but it's on the opposite coast of the Ventures' brand of reverb-drenched guitar rock. He specializes in delicate, sun- and sand-themed love songs written specifically for performance on the beach. Armed with clever lyrics and a charmingly heartfelt delivery, the gentle lothario accompanies himself on the ukulele. The curious compositions include highlights "I'm In Love (With the Tip of Your Iceberg)" and "Saltwater To Quench Your Thirst." It's odd, but this modern-day Tiny Tim pulls it off with the suave ease of Bryan Ferry.
3 stars
Cleveland Scene
Cleveland, OHMay 24, 2006
Many fey indie boys have a deep-down longing to write the next Great American Torch Song, but who's dreaming of it while rocking a ukulele? Only Michael Leviton.
A native Californian, Leviton fled to Brooklyn, but never ditched his childhood dreams of crafting a soundtrack to a fuzzy image of soft waves hitting sandy shores below a beachside supper club -- like a long-lost '40s postcard from Hawaii.
While his notions of Tin Pan Alley mostly come from Bugs Bunny cartoons, Leviton shows a fine grasp of the wistful, sepia-toned air of classic romantic tunes, adding hints of slide guitar and cello to set the mood. Lyrically, he offers heartbroken humor with a modern twist: "Must you always play the glacier, must I play Titanic?"
The languid love songs, mostly featuring ukulele and voice, get a little droopy ("For Lydia"), until "If Sense Were Really Common" enlivens matters with a less traditional melody, "The Glanis Fish" delivers jarring distorted guitar breaks, and the final song, "Common Sense," hulas with the ghosts of scraggly '80s college pop. Sure, there's kitsch afoot, but many a sad sack could succumb to the charms of My Favorite on a warm summer night.
The Village Voice
January 15 - 21, 2003Surf's his turf: California kid Michael Leviton
Chet Baker, please report to the 22-year-old in the photograph. Michael Leviton looks nothing like you, sure, but he seduces listeners with similarly warm vocals, tender tunes, and booming charisma. Every Monday, the Sidewalk Café bustles as Leviton dons his pinstripes, loosens his tie, and sings ukulele-based love songs about the sea. "The shadows they lengthen/The day wears on/I'm weak as a plankton/I'm small as a prawn," laments Leviton, who reminisces about oceanic escapades, as you do in "Moon and Sand."
Compare "My Foolish Heart" with Leviton's "You'll Pay for Your Day at Pleasure Island." You sing, "Her lips are much too close to mine/Beware my foolish heart/But should our eager lips combine/Then let the fire start." Leviton answers, "Each caress/Each moment's passion/Is another check the bank will soon be cashin'." OK, so he's not Chet Jr., but he's a comparably swinging crooner. He updates your hurt without making it seem like work. Now compare "My Funny Valentine" with Leviton's "Dumbest Girl in Town." You sing about a woman whose "looks are laughable," but who is nonetheless your "favorite work of art." Leviton's got similarly realistic ideas about great women seduced by miserable men.
His voice, although less morose than yours, also works through nuance and suggestion. His thin tie tickles a shimmering black belt, too. His timing, inflections, middle-register solos, and breezy confidence salute you with every swung chord, crisp syllable, and gentle arpeggio.
So who is this youngster? Well, torn from California's San Fernando Valley, churned through fascinating courses at Wesleyan University, and spit onto the hip streets of Alphabet City, Leviton elbowed his way through the Sidewalk Café's amateur night with a friendly mix of Microphones-like meditation and Beach Boys-like casualness.
The fact that you double on piano and Leviton doubles on glockenspiel does not doom the analogy. Neither does the fact that you are a famous frontman with chiseled cheekbones and he is a revisionist beach bum with unshaved sideburns. The main difference is that you brood while he bumbles, but that's a footnote for fusspots. He's got your grace, and he's got your number. When he's not singing about the sea, he's yapping about the aught years ("Like in aught-three/When things were the way they ought to be") and drawing influence from barbershop quartets in rodeo bars and straw hats.
"I'm thinking of wearing a straw hat next time," Leviton told The Village Voice in an exclusive interview by the pool table, where gals and guys tiptoed around his splintery bangs for fear of losing an eye—presumably. Maybe his gangly hair does not match your slick West Coast 'do, Chet, but these are indie rock times, when guys named Conor and bands named Death Cab for Cutie top charts, seduce stoners, and pull the price tags off love.
Club Sandwich
Michael Leviton tours with They Might Be GiantsApril 13, 2006
Many of you must be familiar with stylish and visually arresting French psych/lounge/pop act La Laque - who will probably end up on the cover of the Deli the day they finally manage to put a full-length out. Not all of the band's fans may be aware; however, that La Laque's lead guitarist and main songwriter, Michael Leviton, has a solo career where he drops the electric 6 strings in favor of a more traditional and suggestive (for some) ukulele. Leviton's beautiful, elegant, intimate love songs, with their tasteful orchestral arrangements, must have caught the attention of They Might Be Giants, as the ukulele guy will be touring the U.S. with the Brooklyn duo in April and May. --PDG (via TONY)
The Might Be Giants Play Venue Songs in Venue
Speaking of live shows, TMBG has scheduled a couple weeks' worth of dates with ukulele troubadour Michael Leviton, who, according to a recent press release, is inspired by happy couples "kissing, smiling, looking into each other's eyes longingly, etc." at his shows. So all you goofball-rock-loving happy couples get out there and show the bands some PDA. Remember, you're their muses.They definitely are touring:
04-26 Washington, D.C. - 9:30 Club *
04-27 Baltimore, MD - Sonar *
04-28 Asheville, NC - Orange Peel *
04-29 Charleston, SC - Music Farm *
05-01 Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution *
05-02 St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing *
05-03 Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse *
05-04 Savannah, GA - Trustees Theater *
05-05 Nashville, TN - City Hall *
05-06 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant *
05-09 Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall *
05-10 Pittsburgh, PA - Mr. Smalls Theater *
05-11 Knoxville, TN - Sundown in the City *
05-12 Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts *
05-13 Albany, NY - Tulip Festival
07-01 Uncasville, CT - The Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun
* with Michael Leviton