New Model Army - Thunder And Consolation

You’ve got to love New Model Army. They were once introduced on The Tube as “the ugliest band in rock and roll,” their lead singer went by the name Slade the Leveller for years to avoid losing his unemployment benefits, and the United States refused them entry to the country on the grounds that their music was “of no artistic merit.” I love that last part. Oh, and the angry young leftists of New Model Army were forced to abandon playing the song “Vengeance” on The Tube, due to its friendly lines, “I believe in justice/I believe in vengeance/I believe in getting the bastards.” The band has switched genres the way some people switch their bedroom lights on and off, but one thing has remained the same; New Model Army are angry punters with a knack for controversy, as is demonstrated by the fact that 1993’s Love of Hopeless Causes came complete with directions on how to construct a nuclear device. 1991’s Thunder and Consolation is considered their high point, even Justin Sullivan, has modestly called it “brilliant”; although I consider 1990’s The Ghost of Cain excellent as well, what with its great songs “The 51st State” and “Poison Street.”

New Model Army - The Ghost Of Cain

The Ghost of Cain is the third studio album by the British post-punk outfit and presents a revitalized (remobilized?) New Model Army. Ghost is a logical step forward and different from No Rest For The Wicked because unlike a great number of other rock bands, New Model Army has a big emphasis on narrative-driven lyrics that touch on serious themes of justice, politics and social issues. Of course the real power is in the lyrics. It's not about making a statement, it's about expressing gut reactions to the state of the individual and the world as a whole. This is outlined right from the get-go with The Hunt, which deals with street justice in a town overrun by drug dealers and thugs that are untouchable due to corruption and fear.
Every instrument has been mixed with a high degree of clarity so that they are all represented equally on The Ghost of Cain. While the skill of the rhythm section, led by the late Robert Heaton, is still the driving force it means that the bass can not only be heard clearly, which is a rarity in rock music, but it proves to be an integral part. The vocals are more prominently produced and overall the New Model Army sound is clearer. Stabilizing as a three piece unit refuelled the fires of the group’s convictions, and made this a most welcome return to form. This is what NMA always did best. Here they do it at their most intense.

New Model Army - No Rest For The Wicked

Sacrificing the experimental post-punk doodling that worked so well within defined songs on the first LP Vengeance strangely enough works here for this incredible band that won't hear any malarkey about how bad second LPs are supposed to be. A more direct approach works wonders, rendering every song a possible single, everyone a flaming, emotion-wracked foray into human thoughts, customs, and politics. And Slade the Leveler's got some unparalleled British lyrics for this kind of statement-oriented music and tremendous song writing on side one. "There is no rest for the wicked ones," he sings, like a saddened preacher, a sentiment you see again on the terrific "Drag It Down," like a guy standing at the edge of a pointless fray wondering why human beings are always so stupid. But he's also capable of great empathy for the times in England as they are in the 2010s, when so many young people are struggling economically, as "Young, Gifted and Skint" makes clear. Don't miss "Grandmother's Footsteps" and "Ambition," too; you won't hear busier bass playing on a hotfoot U.K. post-punk rock record this year. The evidence here is that New Model Army are getting even better when you might have expected the usual decline, suggesting that Slade is an artist with great ideas you can't exhaust, and all three members have the talent to make it something other than regurgitation.

New Model Army – Vengeance

New Model Army have been soldiering on in various guises since 1980, but it’s this collection of earlier works that captures the Bradford band at their most radical and vital. Living by John Lydon’s declaration that anger is an energy, they were (and still are) a post-punk band always with an ear for the anthemic. Where others of their ilk chose different creative paths – Crass into their own crusty cottage industry, The Cult into feather earrings and arena rock – New Model Army trod a middle ground that managed to juggle melody with political ideals. Vengeance is still a righteously indignant slab of muscular, Ruts-style punk, Nineteen Eighty-Four as bleak and confrontational as the Thatcher era that produced it and debut single Bittersweet’s stripped-down instrumentation reminiscent of The Cure. Justin Sullivan’s song writing is strong throughout and more than anything Vengeance serves to remind that times of recession often produce great protest art.

New Model Army - Raw Melody Men

This live offering captures the very essence of New Model Army: forceful, determined and uncompromising, the band played with a passion and fury equalled by few. The title of the album is an anagram of the band's name and a useful summation of their brew of punk and folk, punctuated by a driving bass with a dash of hard rock and atmospheric synth. Recorded on tour in Germany and England during the summer of 1990, 11 of the 16 songs are culled from the Impurity and Thunder and Consolation albums. Rather than being a comprehensive live history, this album is instead a snapshot of the band at what was to be the peak of their commercial success. Completest may be interested in combining this with the 2000 release And No One Else, as well as with the live tracks on the singles from this period. The intro to "Vagabonds" demonstrates the uplifting effect that violin player Ed Alleyne Johnson introduced to the New Model Army studio and stage sound. Standout moments include a blistering version of the anti-complacency anthem "Get Me Out," while "Lib. Ed," the truncated title of "A Liberal Education" from their debut album, is even more poignant and accusatory in communion with the band's legendary impassioned following. "Better Than Them" rendered here with just guitar and vocals from Justin Sullivan (aka Slade the Leveller), is compelling, stark and haunting, a fine example of his universal folk song writing. A band, whose whole creed and vision was one of being aware, questioning, and conscious, is captured in this set. The album has excellent live sound quality, with the thundering, apocalyptic "The World" bringing the set to a fitting climax.