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7 out of 10
The Levellers are back with their first album for four years and while I can't claim to be very knowledgeable about their previous material; this is certainly them sticking to familiar territory. So it's punk rock folk music all the way with the notable exception of Behold a Pale Rider, which is very much different from the rest and as such is a stand out track for me.
Something I can't leave unsaid about this album is something stated in the band's press release, and that is that it states with the change of the music industry that The Levellers are now at the forefront of the DIY industry. Fair enough they made their own album, but they did it buy buying a building and making it into their own studio, they also sent it to New York for mixing and furthermore they've set up their own Festival, but all this could only ever have been made possible by the money they made doing it the old way with big record labels pushing them. So really they're not at all like many of the other DIY bands of this day and age as they have the money to do it.
Not to lay further condemnation at the feet of the band they also state that their lyrics are a reaction to the apathy shown today towards such subjects as war, the media, government, etc. And that's all well and good but half the time I can't distinguish what they are actually singing and when I can, I just don't understand what they're trying to say. With the exception of Burn America Burn, that one's quite obvious. Unfortunately, the raw feel they once had before is now quite well done.
Listen: www.myspace.com/levellers
Tracklist:
1. The Cholera Well
2. Death Loves Youth
3. Eyes Wide
4. Before The End
5. Burn America Burn
6. Heart of the Country
7. Behold a Pale Rider
8. A Life Less Ordinary
9. Accidental Anarchist
10. Duty
11. Fight or Flight
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