New Model Army

After almost 30 years of making music, New Model Army release their 11th studio album. The line-up has changed over the years and each album is a little different from what ever went before, but still at the helm, and unmistakably so, is Justin Sullivan – main songwriter, lyricist and the underpinning creative force. A fresh sense of cohesion amongst the band was evident on their last album ('High’) and subsequent tour, and this has spilled forth with this latest release. Overall, 'Today is a Good Day’ is an energetic album that sounds like a band sharing a united vision.

Except for the final track, the album was recorded without a click track and also without much embellishment and that raw 'live’ feeling is evident. The eponymous opening track (and single download) is probably the closest NMA have gotten to sounding like a metal band. The relatively recent addition of Marshall Gill brings a harder guitar edge that is at times a little incongruent, but on the opener it works very well. More Metallica than NMA!

'Autumn’, 'States Radio’, 'Disappeared’ and 'La Push’ carry that classic NMA mark – great lyrics and a passionate delivery. Good to either sing along to, jump around to, or both. The inclusion of 'Ocean Rising’, a track originally recorded on Justin Sullivan’s solo album of a few years back (and one that has been played extensively live), seems a little unnecessary. However, the recording here does feel more complete and beguiling in comparison.

There are a couple of less auspicious tracks – 'Bad Harvest’, 'Mambo Queen of the Sandstone City’, but they probably deserve to be first judged when they’re thrashed out loud and live. Despite being flawed in places, 'Today’ remains a strong album.

New Model Army will be touring this autumn. Check out www.newmodelarmy.org for more info.