Watch Maine’s Most Ambitious Art-Rock Band, Leveret, Perform ‘Shallow’

Leveret is an up-and-coming, self-described "synth-art-rock band from Portland, Maine" whose "sounds range from dreamy synth textures, psychedelic guitar riffs, dark melodies, sexy bass lines, and electronic beats." They're also making a case for being the cool, unknown band to flaunt to the under-informed masses: Watch the Maine four-piece perform "Swallow" live in studio at Acadia Recording Company in Portland below.

Another of Leveret's strengths is self-awareness: The group's debut album — Action at a Distance, released in February — is all over the map, dabbling in apprehensively dancefloor-ready vibes à la Hot Chip with "Oscillator," charmingly throwback pop in the vein of a refined Hellogoodbye on "Unclothing" and bluesy psychedelic desert rock in "Swallow."

Despite continued experimentation, each track is confident and shows no hints of reluctance or uncertainty. It's rare that the debut from a young group avoids missteps almost entirely, especially on a record as ambitious and genre-spanning as this, but such is what Leveret have achieved on their first full-length.

Leveret are made up of Cormac Brown, Penn Chan, Harry Gingrich and Jesse Gertz, the latter of whom also produced Action at a Distance. The album was released on Gertz and Gingrich's label, Death List 5, on Feb. 8, 2015 and is available on iTunes, Google Play and Bandcamp.

Follow the band on Facebook to keep up with their live dates, which take place primarily in the Portland, Maine area. In the meantime, stream Action at a Distance here.