New Model Army is not some random band. The word “cult” sums up pretty well what they are about - not the most popular gang on the planet, but one with plenty of inspired and loyal fans. From a few different generations. Their style doesn’t fit into any categories. Rock, pop, punk, folk… They’ve been labelled as pretty much everything through the years, but it’s undeniable that the great music and Justin Sullivan’s inspiring lyrics can not be mistaken. Even extreme metalheads like Sepultura show their respect by doing covers (“The Hunt” in “Chaos A.D.”). The band was dysfunctional for half a decade, until they finally reunited a couple of years ago. This didn’t seem to be some kind of a forced reunion because of the money, but rather like something done in the name of music. At least that’s what I tend to believe. Most of the fans didn’t know about the comeback anyway. Even so, everyone who heard “Carnival” (2005) weren’t disappointed. Justin Sullivan and Co’s new creation pretty much starts from where the previous one ended. We can say that “High” sounds mostly like “Carnival” from all the rest of their back catalogue, both production and overall sounding wise. We’re welcomed by the more than expected guitar oriented upbeat track “Wired”. After this song New Model Army seem to slow down the tempo and move away from the rocky sound, descending into more experimental stuff, which is not bad by any means, since that’s what’s expected from them. The title track and “All Consuming Fire” are fine examples. As a whole, there’s a lot to be heard in “High”. New Model Army sound like a band that - using the experience gathered through the years - finds again the energy of their ideas when they were younger. And it’s nice to see that a band with an almost 30-year-long history can still make albums that stand up to their classics. These veterans still have a lot to give to music. Especially in recent times of more and more butaphoric mass manufacture rock music, a unique band like New Model Army is a nice breath of fresh air.