Album review: New Model Army – 30th Anniversary Boxset
30 Years. 30 bloody years! Has it really been that long? It seems like only yesterday when I popped into the local Our Price (ask your dad) and picked up my first New Model Army album on cassette tape (ditto with the dad thing). The album was Thunder & Consolation, the year 1989 and though it was my first taste of them it was New Model Army’s fourth album. I quickly bought the previous three and have been a fan of their brand of ever since.
New Model Army, named after Oliver Cromwell’s English Revolutionary Army, were formed in Bradford in 1980. Though influenced by the band’s passion for Northern Soul and Post Punk, New Model Army had a sound than traversed many genres; depending on who you spoke to and when you asked, they could be described as post punk, crusty, goth, metal, folk rock or agit rock. However you choose to describe them though, there sound was as instantly recognisable as Justin Sullivan’s husky vocals. Politics also played an important part for the band, they were openly left wing and there’s no doubt that the band’s hatred of Thatcherism had a massive impact.
The 30th Anniversary Boxset includes the double disk ‘Anthology’ containing 30 tracks taken from the band’s 14 studio albums. The songs, a mixture of singles, B-sides and album tracks, were selected by members past and present. It’s an excellent collection of songs and though there are too many to go into depth, I’m pleased to say that some of my favourites made the cut, including ‘Whitecoats’, last year’s ‘Today Is A Good Day’ and from ‘Thunder and Consolation’ that album that started it all for me, ‘Vagabonds’ and ‘Green and Grey’. The boxset also contains 3 DVDs of live footage, including a full concert recorded at the Marquee in 1985, art prints and an A3 size jigsaw puzzle featuring a collage of the band. It’s been a while since I listened to New Model Army and this fantastic collection not only brought back memories, but coming at a time when the conservatives have regained power, also serves as reminder of how relevant they still are. On the downside though it also makes me feel very old! 8/10
Mark Cousens
Out now on Attack Attack
www.newmodelarmy.org
Buy 30th Anniversay Boxset and other New Model Army CDs from hmv
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