The first thing that strikes me about this the eighth studio album from veteran folk punkers The Levellers is the radio friendly production. “Truth & Lies” in many respects marks the bands most commercial sounding record to date and at times is a refreshing listen.
The first half of the album is particularly promising “Last Man Alive” is a punchy opener that sets out the bands stall early on. “Make You Happy” is a remarkably jaunty number with the kind of chorus most people would sell their relatives for and a fiddle solo that really is something special (and I’m not being sarcastic here). The unquestionable highlight of the album though is “For Us All” a jangly folk sing-a-long number that (whisper it) recalls the Smiths at their finest (although I don’t recall Morrissey and Marr employing the use of kazoos!).
However for all the great individual pieces of brilliance contained within there’s also a fair amount of rather mediocre filler particularly at the mid-way point (“Knot Around The World” and “Steel Knife” being the two worst culprits). There’s also plenty on offer that re-treads old ground without adding anything sufficiently new to the mix. “Wheels” for example is a decent enough folk pop tune as is “Who’s The Daddy?” with its militaristic drums, politicised lyrics and breezy chorus.
There are signs here though that the band are embracing the new and experimenting with the folk pop template. Penultimate track “The Damned” a fine mid-tempo rocker is one such example but album closer “Sleeping” is perhaps the most adventurous track on offer melding folk-y guitars to electronic flourishes.
Although it’s not the finest record of their seventeen year career “Truth & Lies” will no doubt be welcomed by the band’s loyal fanbase with open arms. Whether it charms manage to lure in any new fans is highly debatable.
