1 of 1

Write now Article Tools

Justin Sullivan is a man who may need an introduction, as he is not exactly what you would call a household name. He is best known as the front man of the band New Model Army, a powerhouse of angst and energy that burst on the scene in as the dying embers of punk were fading to dust. From the early eighties to the present, NMA were a law unto themselves, delivering an individual brand of rock that established an almost tribal devotion in its followers. Theirs was a street wise down to earth view of everyday life, their songs were filled with passion and emotion and their music had the ability to make you feel. Whether a slow haunting introverted number or a punk frenzied headlong charge, the music always connected with the audience in some way, had the ability to make them experience the message in the song on emotional level, a quality that is sadly lacking in much of today's music.

The band are still working as hard as ever and it is probably a sign of how much time the band takes of Sullivan's time that it was not until 2003, over twenty years down the road of being the driving force of NMA, that he got around to recording an album in his own name. The songs were written in the aftermath of the September the eleventh, and Sullivan admits that

"Like everyone, it took me quite a while to recover from watching those events and taking in the aftermath. However, strangely, I didn't feel like writing an angry song. In some ways I'd already written so many songs about September 11th before it happened, that I wanted to do the opposite. In a world where so much anger, cruelty and ugliness had just boiled to the surface, my instinct was to go the other way and to make something beautiful."

So in a way this album is quite a departure from the politically motivated songs associated with his main musical concern, but there is also much that is familiar too. Although the album is very low key, electric instruments at a minimum, it still contains that moving, haunting wash of sound that raises its head on some of the later NMA albums. It is a very organic sound, rich layers of keyboard and string arrangements form the basis of many of the songs, which may surprise many who may associate Sullivan as a guitar oriented musician.

The album opens to the violin and guitar blending together in a melancholy wash. But Twilight Home, one of two singles on the album is a song of optimism, light and beauty and sets the pace for what is to follow. Whereas with NMA there was a social or

• 1
• 2
• 3
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Album reviews: Navigating by the Stars, by Justin Sullivan?
We want to hear your view. Write now!