Judging by their new release, the
Battlefield Band
are more than a little angry at the credit crunch. There's plenty of outright fury at the greed of bankers and businessmen, such as on the original
"Robber Barons"
and the instrumental
"Bernie's Welcome to Butner,"
for fraudster
Bernie Madoff
. But it's there all through the disc, a fierce energy that's obvious in
"The Mines of Golkonda,"
which is possibly more powerful than anything they've recorded, and the ballad
"The Auchengeich Disaster,"
which simmers on edge. There's one very surprising cover, of
"Plain Gold Ring,"
written by
Nina Simone
, which fits perfectly with the dark spirit of the disc. The credit crunch might not be a good thing, but it's given a whole new excellent mindset to the
. ~ Chris Nickson