As a proud Wisconsin boy, I'm going to overlook the fact that Livan, a Greek-born and London-bred singer, thinks Milwaukee is in Illinois (or at least the chap who maintains the gigs page on Livan's website does). Instead, I'm going to go ahead and give the bald vocalist some props. Livan makes wicked, propulsive and edgy post-punk rock injected with his quiet-loud-quiet vocal delivery and fistfuls of melody and funk.
In what at least on paper was a perfect pairing, Livan toured with ex-Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy earlier this year, and the songs on Off the Grid conjure images of sexy goth boys and girls cavorting in dimly-lit clubs to dark and dance-y European tunes from the Eighties. Elements of Bauhaus (of course), Adam Ant (!) and Midnight Oil (very cool) seep through the seven tracks on this 25-minute EP, which means Off the Grid is not for everyone. But it's refreshing to know guys like Livan are still out there, passionately pursuing a sound that refuses to die while managing to infuse it with a contemporary vibe. He even recorded Off the Grid the old-school way: live and real.
Track Listing:
1) Undead
2) Little White Lies
3) Meet Me On the Other Side
4) The Silence
5) Sad
6) King of the World
7) The Joker
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