New Model Army, From Here - album review
New Model Army frontman Justin Sullivan - their sole surviving original member - is approaching 40 years at the helm of his band.
To mark that, he has laid down his soft vocals to their 15th record - From Here - and it "has a feel that is different to our other albums, but it still contains all the elements that characterise our peculiarly unidentifiable music – perhaps even more than ever".
From Here is 12 tracks of deep, dark and brooding post-punk rock that is despairingly relevant in the current uncertain political and social landscape.
Sullivan, Michael Dean, Dean White, Marshall Gill and Ceri Monger may sound different to what fans have heard before, and this is probably as close to Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds they could ever hope to be.
The swirling atmospherics, pained guitars and deliciously bleak subject matters are all there. And while their storytelling techniques differ to the legendary Australian - who penned the theme song to the this-weekend-returned hit Birmingham drama Peaky Blinders - the guttural feeling is definitely in there.
The Weather is a fantastic track. It builds, and builds, and builds - erupting into an agitated chorus that is ably powered by some fantastic stickwork from Dean.
There's a more full-on rock swagger to Where I Am. Monger's thick, sumptuous bassline holds the whole track up here and provides the key for the rest of the band to let their hair down and write a track so raucously fun, yet still sticking to the atmospherics of the record.
The twisting, haunted sounds of Maps also need to be heard. It's like a bad dream you are thrust into the middle of. Electronic distortion to Sullivan's voice adds to the creepiness of the atmospherics and the warning patter of drums which crash into huge eruptions of symbols keep you on your toes.
Passing Through is a great opening track, too. The big building guitars dance with swirling keys to build towards a thumping breakdown outro that shows their talent in full flow.
Albums like this are perfection in the right mood. It might be a direction they wish to explore again.
Rating: 8/10
New Model Army play Birmingham's O2 Institute on November 23
