HIGH: 15 years later...

[Guillaume]

Just listened yesterday night the whole album on the cd player of my car and like one of the early reviews said back in summer 2007:
"Bloody Brillant"!
Effective riffs ("Wired", "Into the wind"), groovy bass lines ("No mirror no shadow", "All consuming fire", "Rivers") and drums (" One of the chosen"...) and last but not the least, the clever lyrics and catchy choruses we all cherish from the band. 
I think that the title track is especially powerful and moving, very meaningful song and i especially love the chorus, it speaks to me, a  kind of reason to be optimistic when the times in our lives are difficult!

All these things you fear so much depend on angles of vision
From down in the maze of walls you can’t see what’s coming
But from high on the high hills it all looks like nothing
But from high on the high hills it all looks like nothing, nothing

NMA's finest achievement since "Eight" or even "The love of hopeless causes".

[Marloes]

I agree with you, all the way!
That song is ... everlasting .. breath taking ..

[LCG]

It's my favourite NMA track. And THAT is saying something eh? A real masterpiece.

[Stoney]

Rivers is a stunning song for me........ Live it takes me away instantly......
Played High yesterday and on Friday. I really liked it straight away when I bought it, but it does grow more with each passing listen........... Carnival too to be honest. Today Is A Good Day was more instantaneous "classic", maybe it was being grabbed roughly n thrown about by the first monsterous bass line? =)

[FantasticCat]

Also have High on my car cd player at the moment. NMA fans with cd players in their cars eh? How times have changed

[Guillaume]

Rivers is a stunning song for me........ Live it takes me away instantly......

it is indeed a beautiful song...my fav tracks on "High" are "Into the wind", "High" and "Rivers" but on the whole that album is brillant.

[Dreadnought]

Truly a great album, "wired" and "dawn" beeing my absolute favourites.
I have to say that during the show in Athens in June, Justin and Dean played an incredible version of "dawn" which sounded even better that the original and realy deserves to be released.  It haunted me for days after the show..

[Master Ray]

I know that so many fans are in love with the old stuff, but if I was going to introduce a newcomer to NMA, I think this would be the album that I would play to them.  HIGH is amazing.  Of course, then I would get them onto GREEN AND GREY and the rest of it, but, yeah, HIGH is fantastic.

[Spudthemariner]

'High' came out during a wild and stormy summer, during which we were both experiencing loss.....And it so helped!
A fantastic album which resonates still! (And ranks among my favorites with 'LOHC' and 'Impurity')!   

[Pazza]

Also have High on my car cd player at the moment. NMA fans with cd players in their cars eh? How times have changed

hehehe indeed - have moved with the times in so many ways, but CDs will never die for me, which is my luck as the more people go off them the more of them I can buy cheap on eBay! 

[Pazza]

oh and the small matter of the colossal High album - just gets better and needs to be played LOUD

[Heloisa]

What a great coincidence guys!

I was listening to "HIGH" last days...
I listened to "Rivers" for the first time when I went to NMA's gig here in Sao Paulo, 2008... a masterpiece!

[Oliver]

...great record with great songs on it- I like the "warm" guitarsound a lot.

[arwen]

Coincidence indeed!

I have been listening to High too lately.
Like someone else saidm, I liked it immediately, but it does grow on me.

My favourites are Wired, Dawn, Into the Wind, Sky in your eyes.

[Guillaume]

Ha...the memories...BDAW has received mostly fine reviews from the press critics but it was already the case with HIGH...remember!:

Classic Rock:


"Let's face it: you probably already know whether you'll be buying this album from the enduring band from Bradford.

After 25 years or so, Justin Sullivan's band still polarises opinion, with their champions and detractors equally vocal in their beliefs.

Whichever side of the fence you sit on, the band's consistent belief in the redemptive powers of music is admirable, and from riff driven opener Wired to cinematic closer Bloodsports, New Model Army's 10th album bristles with more energythan most debuts (ignoring sickly centerpiece Sky in Your Eyes).

It's not going to change the political wrongs the band rail against, nor is it going to win them any new fans, but those already converted to the cause can rest assured there's still plenty of life in the army yet."

8/10

Rock and Reel:

" The tenth studio album from New Model Army was never going to be trivial. "High" offers everything fans expect: intelligent folk, punk and rock music with visionary lyrics that sit atop the rhythmic musical work of the now five-piece band, with Marshall Gill on lead.

High's full of melody, every song has a message, each word uttered by front man Justin Sullivan hitting home. He's a songwriter's songwriter, capable of delivering the kind of verses you don't get elsewhere. His lyrical intensity and passionate beliefs are tempered by an angry understanding of the cynicism of the status quo. His politics won't suit everyone, but if eloquent messagesdelivered within intricate musical tapestries turn you on' then go get High.

First track "Wired" is all energy and passion and each successive track pushes forward with a feeling of intense urgency. NMA's dogged determination to articulate those things seldom spoken is something to respect. Certainly, hardcore fans will buy this album without question - or disappointment - but if you're in search of intelligence within today's major label dominated fog of insubstantial commercial rock, then this release demands your attention."

4/5