album Review- Justin Sullivan

You have likely already heard me ex till the virtues of New Model Army. In the US, there main claim to fame came during the Reagan years when they were denied visas to come here because they had ‘no artistic merit’. I was lucky enough to be introduced to them in the early 90s. Decades later, I am still a fan, primarily for two reasons. They have a pretty solid “greatest hits” record. While a couple songs dominate their history, they have a set of songs as good as anyone. The second reason is that the band continues to make interesting music. Though they aren’t charting undiscovered territory anymore, they still bring passion to their records. In my undoubtedly naivety, it’s hard to imagine they couldn’t have broken bigger in the States (then again, Sony also took the gamble on them in those exciting anything can happen post-Nirvana years). They certainly shared roots in anthemic punk (Clash, Jam, Undertones) with bands like U2 and the Alarm, but their roaring guitars could have gotten them across with the more FM rock friendly alternative sounds of the day like The Cult, Killing Joke and Sisters of Mercy. 2021 brings lead singer Justin Sullivan’s second solo album (roughly 20 years later from his solo debut). The band follows a similar template as (and features members of) NMA, but instead, has an “unplugged” feel. Like many of his gothic brethren, age only helps make him sound more like a wisened sage. The benefit of this is that focuses on Sullivan’s voice and lyrics, which have always been good, and in this case, he seems to be telling personal stories. The drawback is that the songs work better independently (say on a playlist) but have a repetitive effect on an album. This one won’t be for everyone but it is the kind of album that some people may really love. Also likely contains the best (and possibly only) song about Roald Amundsen written this year, but you will have to look that one up yourself.