The Levellers - Letters From The Underground (Universal)
3/5
By: Charlie Bradford
BUY MERCHMaybe I go to the wrong pubs, or maybe it's the fact I don't actually play an instrument, but no one I've ever met in a pub has offered me a place in a band. Even in a slightly drunk state myself and a new friend have never gone "hey, we agree on left wing politics and being drunk, let's form a band!" But that's exactly what happened to Mark Chadwick and Jeremy Cunningham, the founding members of Levellers, a very long time ago (1988 to be precise).
Now, 20 years on, the Brighton rockers are back with a lovely new album called Letters From The Underground. Released on their own aptly named record label On The Fiddle Recordings. Opener 'The Cholera Well' is a politically charged statement, mentioning Afghanistan, The Sudan, The Holocaust and other such delightful dinner party topics. Beginning with a fast paced tapping and violin jig, there is a darker energy bubbling under the merry jaunt which hints at the melancholy topics of the album as a whole.
Credit where it's due, there is an uncharacteristically huge array of sounds on Letters From The Underground. I love the use of a didgeridoo in 'Before the End', and this, along with 'Burn America Burn' seems to be one of the few songs that don't have Jon Sevink's fiddle as a central thread throughout, moving it away from their very blatant Celtic jig nonchalance typified in 'Life Less Ordinary' and 'Duty'.
Along with the happy go lucky whine and waltz of the fiddle, The Levellers have created another dimension to their sound, adding a ballad-esque aggression similar to early U2. They do this with to greatest effect in 'Behold The Pale Rider' but fall down slightly in 'Death Loves Youth' and 'Fight Or Flight' both depressingly grandiose affairs... they just seem to try a bit too hard, when at their age, this kind of stuff should be flowing from them.
Letters from the Underground in general runs at a punk pace weaved with slow and passionate rock. But a continual rampage of references to war, terrorism and government betrayal mean it openly teeters on the precipice of being too heavy.
Artists in this article: The Levellers
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