Levinhurst is the creation of Lol Tolhurst (best known for being one of the founding members of The Cure) on drums/keyboards and Cindy Levinson on vocals. Their debut album, Perfect Life, is a catchy electro dance album featuring at times simplistic, but always catchy, beats overlaid by the dreamy, and sometimes slightly otherworldly, vocals of Levinson. Dayton Borders plays guitar on several songs, adding a nice level of complexity and edge to the music. This album would be equally at home in a sleek chrome techno bar, a dreamy ambient music rave, or your living room. It’s rhythmic enough to dance to, but also contains a soothing and relaxing character that makes it easy to listen to anywhere. It’s also perfect background music, and I could easily imagine it as the background music in a Mitsubishi car commercial.

The album overall seems to be influenced by 80’s synthpop, begging comparison to early Depeche Mode and, of course, The Cure. Furthermore, Levinson’s voice is oddly reminiscent of Debbie Harry of Blondie. However, there is definitely more than a nod to modern electro with the big beats and samples. Overall, both new and old influences mix congenially in this album.

Tracks that impress are Sad Man, which features a sitar that adds an interesting Middle Eastern flavor to the mix, as well as the danceable and endlessly catchy Hope, and the soothing keyboard-heavy instrumental Perfect Life.

The album is well-produced and the tracks are smooth and well mixed. The vocals stand out perfectly from the background music. There is a crisp distinctness to the instruments. A pleasure to listen to, and, overall, a very good freshman effort that fans of electro music should appreciate. I look forward to their next album, which is apparently in the works.