Level

Eli Young’s kind of country is an honest alchemy that ferments metal-tinged grunge-pop and rootsy singer/songwriter folk songs into a hearty blend of distorted, catchy, twangy, country-rock that is ever changing in its tempos and tones. “Small Town Kid” opens Level (the band’s sophomore studio effort) like a bouncy Mellencamp hit, reflecting on simple, small-town living where a good truck, a fishing spot, a loving companion, and a weekend saloon are all a man needs to be fulfilled. “So Close Now” makes an unlikely marriage of pop-metal guitars and honky-tonk pedal steel work in symbiosis under airtight vocal harmonies with lyrics about a dire need for change and the unbridled enthusiasm that increasingly rises with each step taken toward packing up and heading out into a new life. “Oklahoma Girl,” is a moody and mellow rocker about a short-lived tryst with an arresting muse from the song’s namesake state. “Everything Is You” could very well be the tune’s sequel as he sings an impassioned ballad about being haunted by everything that reminds him of his former lover.