It might not be a simple few minutes’ walk down the road anymore but there’s nothing quite like going to a bricks and mortar record shop on release day to pick up a new album. That’s exactly what I did as far as New Model Army’s 16th studio album was concerned, eagerly grabbing it from the prominent display near the entrance (well done Fopp) and rushing home to start digesting it. A week later it has sunk in a bit but it was obvious on very first spin that ‘Unbroken’ was going to be one that was going to keep growing on each and every listen just like its predecessors. Passionate spinners of stories and with a slightly more guitar driven and streamlined approach than last release ‘From Here’ we get eleven new songs in a very accessible 45-minute running time. At first the lyrical tropes are all there with nature, the weather, wide vistas and a smattering of political discontent all waiting to be absorbed but of course there’s plenty more to take in as repeat spins unveil.
Stripped down themselves to a quartet now, things start with the urgent strummed clamour of ‘First Summer After’ and Justin Sullivan’s passionate and instantly recognisable vocals in full enrapturing flow. The melody is precise and captivating, kept somewhat simple but one that will grow and gradually overwhelm like an old friend. Subtle keyboards, thick bass and driving drum beats all add to the nostalgic gaze of the song and the sudden unexpected stop leaves you hungering for more. Luckily there is plenty to come. ‘Language’ is built around Ceri Monger’s formidable bass twang and the song’s message of love, war and fear in the times we live in is a heartfelt plea, the chorus likely to be sung out loud live at future shows. The message with ‘Reload’ is starker and will have you sitting up and paying attention as Justin angrily attacks the Government and the UK’s history of colonialism and slavery. It’s bitter with lyrical rage but musically sweet. Thankfully a change of thinking has in many ways negated cries of outright ‘Vengeance’ to some extent but thinking back to the fortuitous statute toppling ‘Drag It Down’ this is a message that is still as appropriate as it was decades ago. ‘I Did Nothing Wrong’ is a call out to corporate mismanagement and the current despicable Post Office scandal which saw many imprisoned for fraud due to faulty accounting software. It has a powerful and rigorous melody that sends shivers down the spine especially when put in context with the ongoing fight for justice and compensation still being bitterly fought out.
Time to calm a little? There’s a “Cold Wind” blowing and with pure balladry at its heart we get a gorgeous “kiss from the sky” and a song to dream and shiver along to. Some orchestral parts provided by strings breeze gently amidst the melodic guitar refrain. Upping things to a solid stomp ‘Coming Or Going’ bounces in and drives away with call and response vocals that are going to momentarily lift the doom and gloom and have pits opening up and tower building. At the end of this and beginning of ‘If I Am Still Here’ Michael Dean’s drumming is excellent and really creates a perfect rhythmic rocking motion. Sparkling guitar shards drift like sunbeams across this one and it’s another song full of enticing majesty. I suspect one of the songs here that is going to weather the tests of time is ‘Do You Really Want To Go There?’ due to the impetus of its repeated title. However, it’s ‘Idumea’ which somewhat sticks out as taking a different route, to transport us away to other places. With its Charles Wesley based poetry and vocal excerpt from the titular hymn we are swept off to the Middle East by a sound that wouldn’t be out of place on a Peter Gabriel or Paul Simon album.
I still consider I have a way to go and travel myself with this album, with many more plays to follow. With the musically upbeat closer ‘Deserters’ ringing in my ears I’m also pretty sure that there will be mornings “I wake up singing” these songs for plenty of time to come. Essentially ‘Unbroken’ is another timeless and classic album from the bards of Bradford, with lyrics and music that truly matter.
(8.5/10 Pete Woods)
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