Review NEW MODEL ARMY ‘Unbroken’

It was back in 1980 when New Model Army a long musical journey that is still ongoing to date. With Justin Sullivan being the only remaining founding member, New Model Army created their very own sound by blending rock, folk, and punk. Their music can be identified right away what also has to do with the stellar voice and vocals by Justin Sullivan.

My entry point in their world of darkened rock music was the 1986 release called ‘The Ghost of Cain’. With songs like the timeless classic ‘51^st State’, New Model Army showed their great capability of write anthemic songs that will last forever,

New Model Army always released records that impressed by musical versatility without losing the connection to their roots. Regardless of if we look at the rocking early releases, the more layered ‘From here’ or the symphonic ‘Sinfonia’, New Model Army always delivered superb music and their newest effort, ‘Unbroken’, continues the approach.

‘Unbroken’ showcases a band that is still hungry with references to the earlier days. The songs on the new record are more straight-forward which makes them more anthemic and I felt more than once reminded of the band’s 80s sound, reflected by the opener ‘First Summer After’. The guitar sound, the iconic voice of Justin Sullivan and the captivating rhythm; all are key elements of New Model Army’s sound and the opener has it all.

‘Unbroken’ features eleven songs and regardless with which song you start, you will get the full New Model Army experience offered. While cruising though this album you meet songs like the dark ‘Language’ with a solid groove and the touching ‘Cold Wind’.

To create a musical contrast the album also features rocking tracks like ‘Coming and Going’, a track with a revolutionary spirit. The same goes for the versatile ‘Do You Really Want to Go There?’ with its alternation between loud and fragile calmness. Interesting to listen to is ‘I Did Nothing Wrong’ as it combines the folk roots with beat, all leading to a voluminous chorus.

‘Unbroken’, that might be more than solely the title of the newest New Model Army effort. This band is unbroken when it comes to their musical approach. The trademarks remain on each album of the four-piece and yet the band creates constantly exciting and vibrant new songs, like the ones on ‘Unbroken’. New Model Army underlines with their newest release that they belong to the legendary icons in rock as this album is a wonderful piece of music that unveils new details with every new round on the record player.