Straight in at 24 (w/c Aug 18), Folk-Punksters the Levellers bounce back in ultra-confident mood on their own label, On The Fiddle.
Over the past 20 years, a key feature of their repertoire is the frenetic fiddle
work of John Sevink, fused with punk tendencies, traditional English music
and sloganeering rants, occasionally rolling out anthems such as One Way, 15 Years
and What A Beautiful Day.
None of their singles have made the Top Ten. The mix is quite heady and
infectious, making them one of the UK’s favourite festival bands. On stage
they’re simply mesmerising: I’ve seen them twice. If you want to check their
on-stage credentials, check out the awesome Best Live: Headlights White Lines And Black Tar Rivers (1996).
Born in Brighton in 1988 by frontman Mark Chadwick and Jez Cunningham, they’ve
developed this bohemian image to their advantage, though things haven’t always
been good between them and the music press. Another appealing factor is their
ant-authoritarian reputation: so, nothing’s changed here. So far, there’s been
two download only singles – A Life Less Ordinary, a Celtic fuelled romp,
backed by the album’s catchiest (and best) song, the thumping and raucous
The Cholera Well.
Then came the album’s most commercial and slick Burn America Burn (I
can just hear it a one of their gigs already – their new anthem). Sevink’s
fiddle must have exploded into flames. The third single, a hard copy as far as
I’m aware, is the more subdued (by their sizzling standards) Before The End.
In fact you’d never think it was them at all, as this is almost a (dare I say
it) ‘pop’ song.
Elsewhere, the real adrenalin rushes stem from pulsating Eyes Wide, the
stomping happy-go-lucky blast of Heart Of The Country and effervescent Accidental Anarchist. Much the same power and passion can be found
on the blood and thunder of Duty, with Sevink’s bow going into overdrive.
After the deceptive and quiet start, Fight Or Flight soon takes off as
they dig deep to end their first album in three years.
File under: Back to basics. Good to see them back.
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
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2008.
