Rotten Love

VINYL FORMAT. "Rotten Love" b/w "You Be Sweet" and "Rotten Love (Aaron Mix)."

James Levy - frontman of New York rock band Levy - has an onstage swagger from the Billy Bragg school of rock, as the band offers punk-sized beats and stripped-back guitars. The foursome may be the new kids on Avenue A, but they can easily play in the backyard with stalwarts of New York's revitalized post-punk scene. The singer's Morrissey-esque croon and his heartfelt lyrics betray his tough-guy stance: he's really a silky-voiced bitter dreamer, whose passion is reflected in his songs.

"Rotten Love," the title track, has all the wonderful catchiness of a silly pop song, but its bouncy waters run deep: "I think about you and what you've done. I think about you and what you've become." It's a love song about hate, and a hate song about love.