The official NMA board
General Category => New Model Army => Topic started by: Amandistan on August 07, 2014, 01:33:15 AM
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Okay, so I have noticed sites like spotify and lastfm lists artists that sound nothing at all like NMA as similar.
Spotify lists Morrissey, the Stone Roses and the Buzzcocks as similar. WTF? ???
They sound noting alike at all. I think the only similarity is that all of these bands are from northern England. ::)
Last FM lists all these 80's goth groups that are not even remotely similar. To me NMA seems like more of a singer/ song-writer/poetry with an intense and energetic backing band than a highly dramatic goth band. The idea of websites labeling them as goth has always puzzled me.
What bands would you actually consider to sound even remotely similar to NMA?
I have not heard any artists that come close but if there are I would love to discover them.
Personally, I would say NMA are closer to very early U2 than any of the bands mentioned. That only comes down to the passion and expression of raw emotion though. And I meant very, very early before U2 blew up. :)
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I'm sure we would all agree that nma are a very unique band who are impossible to label ok alternative rock and post punk are very wide reaching labels
What i love most about the band and what makes them very special is that all of there records have been excellent and they continue to bring out great music some 34 years since they started with each song and lp being different.
Now don't get me wrong they have been sum other brilliant bands but nearly all of them have managed only 2 or 3 great lps
Since you asked the question one of the few bands that match nma for sheer passion in my opinion are Rage against the machine
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Ever heard the Chilean Warning 7" by NEW MODEL, (came out in the mid 80's)?
Closest I've ever heard. ;)
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I think if you know the work of another band quite well, you are always going to pick up on similarities over the vast spectrum of millions of combinations of notes, riffs, beats, et. Someone here recently compared to Bob Marley which I find hard to see, but fair play.
One that stands out to me is the sound of the start of "Christine" by Siouxsie and the Banshees to some of the acoustic guitar and base in "White Coats".
Av a listen --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSSlxp0FAS8
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This is one subject I find really hard to discuss, but let's try... The NMA to me always sounded so British like no other British band, I can see the landscapes and hear the whisper of history in every note they play, but yet can't really find a match in any band I come across. The first time I got hooked on the band was when I was 15 and reading "The Lord of the Rings", I found the thundering bass of songs like "The Charge" or "Ballad of Bodmin Pill" a perfect soundtrack for the story, especially when I came to the chapters dedicated to the the Riders of Rohan (don't ask me why, I know some might find it strange or inadequate). So it was T&C that I started with and I guess I still have no other soundscape that comes closer to the atmosphere of that story. If I were looking for a band I could compare that to I don't think I could really name any, maybe in some ways, because of the folk influances to both, I could mention some albums by Jethro Tull as coming from the similar direction, but again those influances I think have been expounded by each of two bands differently and in accordance to the time they've been produced, the Tull slightly more 70's hard rock, and NMA more punk rock...
When I later on discovered older albums I found a bit more bands I could relate their sound to, like Southern Death Cult or Gang Of Four, but always with a very self aware approach, and I actually do like all of these bands quite a lot.
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Good question. I'd probably say The Levellers, Men they Couldn't Hang and Mekons.
Well, Lev's were inspired by them but do not sound as melancholic at all. In the end Levellers are quite happy music. But there are something in common with them for sure. Violins, folk and sort of vagabond thing.
On the other hand Men They Couldn't Hang reminds somehow about No Rest era.
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I think Killing Joke are similar in some ways although they don't quite cover the same spectrum that NMA does.
Love both bands though.
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In the 80's some critics were linking NMA to others bands doing "politic" rock or "heroic" rock; bands making points about what's unfair and wrong in the world...The Alarm, Big Country, Midnight Oil and especially early U2 and The Clash.
On the other hand Men They Couldn't Hang reminds somehow about No Rest era.
I know this band only by name...some good albums from them to recommend? ;)
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I know this band only by name...some good albums from them to recommend? ;)
I have not heard them so often, but a friend of mine used to play MTCH at times and early NMA was something I thought it reminded. Just checked couple of their songs on Youtube and well, maybe it reminds actually Pogues more than NMA. But not too far I think. Here's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DEAdibOnuhw) a song from their debut album.
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I think on the previously unreleased songs on vengeance the whole story there are definitely elements of Devo and Wire
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The Levellers were a bit similar during the TAC and I days... ???
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There's a track on 'Send Away The Tigers' by The Manic Street Preachers called 'Imperial Bodybags' and it has the sound and lyrical concerns of NMA and I always thought that roughly half of the 'Magic' album by Springsteen could have been written by Justin.
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Here's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DEAdibOnuhw) a song from their debut album.
I quite like it, but i agree it's closer to The Pogues's sound than NMA's sound.
There's a track on 'Send Away The Tigers' by The Manic Street Preachers called 'Imperial Bodybags'
sounds good...i like it! :):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj4mMf895NQ
Some good albums to recommend from this band? ;) :)
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I'd agree that the Levellers are probably the most akin- definitely happier but they have their darker moments especially in the earlier stuff (try 'Julie')
Another group that I'm surprised doesn't get more mention around here is Leatherface. Northern lads, melancholic, beautiful turns of poetic phrasing, similar 'post-punk' to singer/songwriter arc in their development...
Just saying...
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There's a track on 'Send Away The Tigers' by The Manic Street Preachers called 'Imperial Bodybags' and it has the sound and lyrical concerns of NMA and I always thought that roughly half of the 'Magic' album by Springsteen could have been written by Justin.
I think it's a wonderful track but don't hear NMA similarities. Nicky Wire is an exceptional lyricist but I don't hear any similarities to Justin's. It may just be me however.
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Here's (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=DEAdibOnuhw) a song from their debut album.
I quite like it, but i agree it's closer to The Pogues's sound than NMA's sound.
There's a track on 'Send Away The Tigers' by The Manic Street Preachers called 'Imperial Bodybags'
sounds good...i like it! :):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj4mMf895NQ
Some good albums to recommend from this band? ;) :)
Try Holy Bible and Generation Terrorist for good MSP albums.
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When I listen to nma I hear leonard cohen,killing joke,u2, queens of the stone age,therapy?,the sisters the manics and none of the above! The manics are a remarkably similar band in many ways;highly intelligent imotive lyrics over clash based riffs, both bands from the provences both bands making whatever music they like 30 years later,seen both bands over 50 times each.
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On the manics similarity again the song "view from stow hill" from there new album "futureology" is so similar in lyrics and ethos its unbelieviable.
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Bloody hell, I go off line for a day or two and you lot start talking about The Manic Street Preachers??? I started a thread about those brilliant Welsh buggers!!!!
>:(
;D
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Sorry I forgot to say "view from stow hill" by the manics is incredibly similar to "high".
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Hi Amandistan, I think the music and the way it is arranged bears a strong resemblance to 'Young, gifted and skint'. Then again, that might just be me!
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Hi Amandistan, I think the music and the way it is arranged bears a strong resemblance to 'Young, gifted and skint'. Then again, that might just be me!
It ain't just you, mate, the first time I listened to Imperial Bodybags, I thought 'shit, that sounds like Young Gifted And Skint'! Damn good tune.
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Now that you mention it, I agree.
But just that era of NMA. They seemed to have evolved a lot.
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Slightly off topic but The Men They Couldn't Hang had an absolute belter of a song called 'Family Way'. It doesn't sound like NMA but it has themes in common with 'The Hunt' in particular.
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Another group that I'm surprised doesn't get more mention around here is Leatherface. Northern lads, melancholic, beautiful turns of poetic phrasing, similar 'post-punk' to singer/songwriter arc in their development...
Just saying...
Some albums to recommend from this Leatherface band?
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Luckyjack is bang on the money with the choice of Leatherface, they are melancholia drenched punk from Sunderland, they have many great album's but "mush" is the classic, iconic release from 1993. They were often described as Motorhead meets Husker du which is a fair comparison, if you like Stiff little fingers and Therapy? It's highly likely you will approve. Also check out lead singer Frankie Stubbs solo acoustic output, it is sublime.
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Heck, a mix of Motorhead, Husker Du, SLF and Therapy?
*off to check out some Leatherhead* :D
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As this thread is unburied, I would add Noir Désir, french band, that I find really similar to NMA.
They were labelled as "rock", because I don't think you can find any proper subgenre, like NMA. There first EP (ou veux tu qu'je r'garde) is almost a Gun Club ripoff, in terms of guitar and voice, but then they really evolved after that (this first EP is still amazing, no matter the "ripoff"). The lyrics are really profound, sometimes in english or spanish, but the vast majority is in french, and it's brilliantly written, and french is not an easy language for rock. Multiple moods, every album have his own atmosphere (like NMA again) and they never really tried to reach for success, even if they were huge in France, you really can't say they made any compromise to be successful.
Seen them in Paris suburbs with NMA, circa 1990 (or 1993 ?) and except for the Ed Alleyne-Johnson / Levellers bundle of the Impurity tour, I've never seen a better band to be on the same stage as NMA.
After that, you need to focus on the music, and not the history of the band, because the way it ended is such a sad story (and I don't mean sad for the fans of the band, but for the people that got hurts).
So, I would definitely give it a go for someone looking in a kind of NMA sort of band :). One EP, 5 albums, the most well known album is called "Tostaky" bur I prefer "666,667 Club", or the first album, "Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient)"
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Justin Sullivan is a big fan of NOIR DESIR, maybe one of his favourite bands, he said it in a few interviews:
http://www.speedweb.fr/index.php/musique/pop-rock-electro/462-new-model-army-toujours-present
also he likes DETROIT, Bertrand Cantat's new band.
So, I would definitely give it a go for someone looking in a kind of NMA sort of band :). One EP, 5 albums, the most well known album is called "Tostaky" bur I prefer "666,667 Club", or the first album, "Veuillez rendre l'âme (à qui elle appartient)"
"Un homme pressé".is an incredible song, still relevant, with people like Macron for example, ha ha!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=by1RRP9wa_Y&ab_channel=NoirDesirVEVO
"Veuillez rendre l'âme..." is a very good album, it's the only i know quite well with the "666,667 Club" album.
NMA and NOIR DESIR played in french festivals at least twice together, in Pontoise, April 1991:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/PjTwWORQSAHIO8lj5HTJ6Iyg7Y3fS_iInujHT0EMhYpFE2diHzg2_srEH73Ycw8NgWpziA58e11XmkZ5qqMg6OzYuP0NvsPf-r7oa3T6iSwP6U3gIZiQEwvFKEc7Acc)
(http://lesvieuxcons.fr/wp-content/uploads/1991/04/1991_04_20_Affiche.jpg)
And in Concarneau, summer 1993:
http://lesvieuxcons.fr/?p=66234
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It was a boring afternoon - started to update an old win-10 (19x) notebook
so it put my old (2005) Noir Desire 2 dvd on (Noir Desir En Images) with clips and live concerts ...
I also have Detroit and the solo cd of Cantat
Both are different and not to compare with Noir Desir (my opinion)
Detroit - seems no longer exist; Pascal Humbert stopped working together with Cantat (or DEE or?)?
And Cantat solo stopped working (live or studio) after the tour-stop (before Corona 2020)?
And Guillaume - is Le Vent Nous Portera a cover song? I`m sure I heard some secons of it some days ago on an arte docu with a female voice ...
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https://youtu.be/66JLTwN1JC8
As said before; reminds me of a song of a certain band ..
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And Guillaume - is Le Vent Nous Portera a cover song?
I don't know! i'm not a Noir Désir specialist, i know only one album and half, a few songs here and there.
https://youtu.be/66JLTwN1JC8
As said before; reminds me of a song of a certain band ..
Which song? "You weren't there"? "White light"?
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And Guillaume - is Le Vent Nous Portera a cover song?
I don't know! i'm not a Noir Désir specialist, i know only one album and half, a few songs here and there.
https://youtu.be/66JLTwN1JC8
As said before; reminds me of a song of a certain band ..
Which song? "You weren't there"? "White light"?
I thought R&R myself. But, I can't understand the lyrics, so it's based on rhythm and feel.
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White light imo (the guitar chords)
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Hey, their have been discussions about Noir Désir since I’ve posted, cool 😁
Le vent nous portera isn’t a cover song, no cover on Noir Désir albums, only a live Nick Cave cover on a free sample CD I had in the 90s. And live covers (at pointoise with NMA an incredible helper Skelter for example !).
I have to say, with all the stories with Cantat (the singer) I haven’t really listen to his new stuff. Even if I have disdain for all the people that started to howl with the wolf pack saying stupid shit to feel important (he’s not a women beater, that’s an accident that happened between two junkies tortured souls, not the same, and after that he haven’t forced his former wife to commit suicide), still it feels strange to listen too his new stuff. I found his single from his solo album quite bad and badly written, haven’t listened the full album. And Detroit is still sitting somewhere on my computer desktop, will have to give it a try. Funny how even if you think you don’t care about the personal life of an artist it can still influence you... but I’m still a HUGE Noir Désir fan... and my kids too 😁
For many many MANY years, the tape NMA was (are ?) giving to venues to play before the band contains songs from Noir Désir first album.
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I`m a fan of Noir Desir (Cantat), 16HP and Wovenhand (DEE/Humbert), this three did one song together, so after the split of Wovenhand I was interested in their following projetcs (DEE/Hacke) and Detroit (Cantat/Humbert) and Cantat solo. Detroit played a lot of Noir Desir songs live, but all 3 projects of Cantat/Humbert/Cantat are not really my cup of tea ....
I think it was 2018, when I checked the net for more news about Cantat and my french isn`t good - but I remember one article, that ex Noir Desir members and Humbert stopped working with Cantat, because he has again some old problems with treating good his new partner. Perhaps that`s not true and I`m not on FB or twitter or so, but hard to find other news about his work during the last 2 years ....
I gave him a second chance - but a third one - no, I wouldn`t.
Still interested in news about projects of DEE and Humbert.
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You know Lotus, it just seem to be a human tragedy, and the fact he is famous makes the news. I regret to have written "junkies" above, drug addiction would have been better...
To sum up if your french is not that good, in France, they started to use him as a symbol of violence against woman, which was soooo stupid. His girlfriend had lots of relationship problems before him. Sadly, those two personalities combined was the fuel for disaster, and sadly, Marie Trintignant was the victim (and clearly her and only her, not him), but it was not just violence against women, but a combination of both people with a LOT of anger and despair, that ended up in a tragic accident. Sadly again, those things happens, and he went to jail and was clearly morally annihilated by his act.
After jail, he went back with his former wife (who supported him all along the trial and the sentence), which end up committing suicide in their house while their kid was at home... it was really harder to still have sympathy ... even if in her suicide letter she don't mention Cantat, but say that another member of the band was awful to her...
Then the guitar player of Noir Desir went berserk about Cantat being not remorseful and acting as a victim, to what the drummer said it wasn't true, and the band exploded while preparing a new album (what was really true is not relevant, we're not in their heads).
Then Detroit, and the press was following Cantat everywhere, and feminist were protesting in front of venues or town hall, making lots of gigs canceled. Then Cantat started to be more and more seclusive, and was seing conspiracy everywhere ... the rare interviews he accepted were ... disturbing I would say. Then he made his solo effort, and was to play in some festivals, but again, feminists started protesting and most were canceled. Like often in this moments, there was no place for discussion, or explanation of any kind, the feminists accusing immediately anyone who was trying to speak calmly about this stuff ofbeing a potential woman murderer (damn I hate so much most of the -ist -ism ... no possible discussion with those).
Since then, there's no news of him that I'm aware of. I don't follow the gossip press, I don't go on purpose to find dirt on either of the protagonists, and I have to say that in general it's a subject I avoid. There was no intention at ALL from me to make a gossip post, or to start a guilty/not guilty thread. I was just trying to explain what I know of a tragedy that cost the life of a great actress, and stopped one of the most amazing french band (one of the 3 most influential I would say, with Telephone (that I don't like that much) and Berurier Noir (that I LOVE :)).
that said, for those of you who don't know Noir Desir, go check it, and if you find a live video, that's a great way to see how amazing performers they were ! (seen them for the first time a few days before the release of the first album, january 1989, two years before my 1st NMA gig :)).
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Yes the Trintignant/Cantat story is just a tragedy, nothing more to add than Valstar Superstar has said, i also agree with him about the "-ist", "-ism" of all kinds!
one of the most amazing french band (one of the 3 most influential I would say, with Telephone (that I don't like that much) and Berurier Noir (that I LOVE :)).
and what about Trust at least their album "Répression"? ah yes, they are an hard rock band, not a rock band!
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There's another very interesting french artist that i've just found about these last weeks, not like NMA but his folk acoustic songs have maybe a bit of NBTS feel... like Justin is underrated by the medias and mainstream audiences, Johan Asherton is also underrated in France despite many beautiful songs and albums!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGO3mNNKM6I&t=5s&ab_channel=JohanAsherton-Topic
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtHXjnlO9gg&ab_channel=JohanAsherton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVEf2l0OFq8&list=PLSc2a2fvfCvaUYfZaoraIxAZ3eqngaZx2&index=5&ab_channel=OlivierBrunel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiP7vOAbDU0&ab_channel=PedroN%C3%B3brega
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Thank you Valstar Superstar for your long posting. Now I think I understand better what I`ve read about Cantat during the last 5 years.
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one of the most amazing french band (one of the 3 most influential I would say, with Telephone (that I don't like that much) and Berurier Noir (that I LOVE :)).
and what about Trust at least their album "Répression"? ah yes, they are an hard rock band, not a rock band!
I didn’t made a distinction between rock and hard rock, Berurier Noir is a Punk band, not a plain rock band for example. Trust were a big band, and influential beyond France (AC/DC were their big friends, Anthrax did a cover of Trust for example) but I really don’t think they were as influential on French rock than the other 3. The 3 I mentioned, in my opinion, really changed French rock and even the French music industry, deeply (the industry much more by the Berurier than the 2 others, but still...).
Again, I don’t really like Telephone, but their first album was kind of an introduction for later Punk Rock, by the raw energy of it, and it took French youth by storm. And so many bands appeared in the wake of Telephone, showing that youth had something to say, with their own words, and their own « code ».
About what the Berurier have changed, I could go on for many pages so I will just be lazy and say they changed everything, from label to record prices to the way to organise gigs and the price of the gigs 😁
Noir Désir showed you could be anti establishment, have total control over the creative process, and still have a huge success while being signed (unvoluntary, with all the labels buybacks) to a huge major, which you can spit on at every media apparences you have. And, all that by doing a kind of « alternative » rock, which in France is usually not popular at all !
This subject could use much more in depth opinion but I’m lazy 😉