Back in the days of crusties and kitbags, one band emerged to dent the chart and headline festivals worldwide, and they deserved it too. The Levellers formula was simple too; fiddles and didgeridoo added to a politically fuelled and punk-inspired pop band. Weapon Called the Word and Levelling the Land were albums of unfaltering quality, rammed with fiddle-fuelled riots and sing-a-long-a anthems that made them one of the most celebrated live bands of the nineties.But in the middle of the decade they started losing their way. While 1995's Zeitgeist was a huge hit, as was single 'Hope Street', musically the wheels were coming off and the next decade or so saw them stumbling around in the folk/dad rock wilderness although 2002's Green Blade Rising showed definite shoots of recovery. Now, those shoots have flowered beautifully with Letters from the Underground, the bands ninth studio album and the best for years.Maybe the political landscape has had an effect, rekindling the fire that drove them so effectively while the Torys were in power? Frankly, the fear of that lot getting back in is surely enough to inspire any political band, especially when added to the growing disillusionment with the warmongering not-so-new-anymore Labour and a floundering economy putting poverty at home back on the agenda. Or maybe they just played Hello Pig, cringed, and remembered what the fuck it was all about in the first place.Whatever the reason, Levellers are back. Three quarters of Letters from the Underground is a fast, furious cacophony of soaring fiddles, early punk guitar riffs and political bile worthy of those early classics; 'Cholera Well', 'A Life Less Ordinary', 'Duty', 'Eyes Wide', 'Accidental Anarchist', 'Burn America Burn', 'Fight or Flight', 'Heart of the Country', take your pick. I genuinely didn't think I'd hear a Levellers album again that I'd like practically all of, and I'm absolutely bloody delighted.That said, it falls short of perfection because, while they've the fast bits right, the mellower bits leave an awful lot to be desired. 'Death Loves Youth' is cracking; an overblown slow burner that you hope like hell is going to go nuts at the end, and dutifully does, but less hectic tracks 'Before the End' and 'Behold the Pale Rider' (which rips off 'Children of the Revolution' horribly) are awful, reminiscent of their darker days.Having seen them live a few times of late, 'Carry Me' is still a firm crowd favourite; a stripped down classic (their 'Gigantic', if you like) that lets the limbs recover from bouncing around and gives everyone a chance to have a good old sing (this is folk music, after all). If they can recapture how to do ballads like that again too in time for the next album, they really will be back. But for now, I'm more than satisfied. 85%Levellers on MySpace