“Unbroken” – at the time of writing – has been out a couple of months. I apologise to NMA for this, but things slip through the cracks.
It means I am writing this the day after it emerged that the bastards that ran the Post Office knew all along they were lying in court. We can only hope that someone goes to prison for perjury. They won’t. My grandad was right when he told me as a young boy that “money doesn’t talk, son, it shouts. Really loudly.”
The only thing I dislike more than the national disgrace that was and is the Post Office scandal, is the fact that it took an ITV Drama for most people to give a shit and for the scum in government to do anything.
Some of us knew. New Model Army knew. They’ve got a song about it on “Unbroken” – and when they wrote “I Did Nothing Wrong”, a righteous slice of anger, they probably didn’t know they’d be putting it out mere weeks after the thing blew up in the public conscience.
If ever there was a better example of why we need Justin Sullivan and the troops around, then I don’t know what it can be. For over 40 years they’ve been writing about things that matter in their own style, and totally unconcerned for trends and what anyone else sounds like.
Late last year when the press release came for the first single (and lead track here) “First Summer After” it described it as “very New Model Army” and you know what it meant.
It takes a couple of minutes to cut loose, building slowly, but you also know its going to burst forth, and it does. Interestingly, though, it bursts forth on the back of a militaristic drumbeat. And that primal rhythm for me, is the thing that most categorises the album as a whole.
The superb language thunders with its bass. There’s an energy here. And I’d be surprised if its not played live. “Give me a story where the good people win in the end” sings Sullivan, in a way that suggests he hasn’t abandoned hope, just yet.
“Reload” spits with its anger, its exasperation at the ruling classes. “It’s only debt that trickles down” it offers, railing against neo-liberalism, and lets be honest, for any band that is motivated by the world around them, there is plenty to write about at the moment.
This is a starkly barren record. As windswept and inhospitable as the Yorkshire moors in February, “Cold Wind” exemplifies this mood, and even the most lavish ones, like “Coming Or Going” have a harsh, punky air.
The tribalism in the drums of “If I’m Still Me” is unmistakable, and there’s something disorientating about “Legend”, while the guitar riff for “Do You Really Want To Go There” is clever. Indeed, the current line-up has produced some of the most compelling instrumentation from the band.
That is shown again in the folk of “Idumea”, where things are sparse and unsettling like the Army is marching with a real purpose.
Arguably, they save the best for last, too. “Deserters” offers the salient point that “ they only shoot deserters they can find”. And why would you want to stay anywhere near this shit show in 2024?
In a world where both of the pieces of filth that blocked the “upskirting” bill have been rewarded with the knighthoods that are normally the preserve of Tory donors, is it any wonder that New Model Army sounds so damn indignant?
More than that, they are ever increasingly relevant. And that is a sad indictment on society after 40 years. It is, though a testament to their brilliance and skill. That as ever, remains “Unbroken”.
Rating 8.5/10
