If you’ve never seen Sleaford Mods perform (either in person or on YouTube or whatever) it will be difficult to get your head around ‘English Tapas’, the Nottingham duo’s latest album. If you have seen them, you’ll probably appreciate that their live show is less a traditional gig and more a situationist performance-poetry rave attended by devotional working class fans and worried-looking hipsters.
Because of this, they are treated by many critics as a curiosity: as the most credible punk band in a generation or the left wing face of Brexit Britain. But what they actually are is more nuanced. They’re a musical duo with undeniable artistic integrity despite a provocatively primitive aesthetic. And, on ‘English Tapas’, that aesthetic can certainly be applied to Andrew Fearn’s production. The backing tracks are repetitive, bouncy and easily replicated. They contain a distinctively juvenile sense of fun.
The lyrics of Jason Williamson are a different proposition. His observations are searingly social, confessional and contemporary. He lampoons and rages with a political virility that is rare in popular music: “We’re going down like B.H.S. while the able-bodied vultures monitor and pick out us / We’re going down and it’s no stress, I lay in hope for the knuckle dragging exodus.”
These lyrics comment on the recently closed high street chain, British Home Stores, whose liquidation revealed huge payouts to executives while 11,000 newly redundant staff faced a yawning pension deficit.
Carlton Touts is another standout, starting with a seemingly endless free verse that only switches when Williamson seems to glitch on the line “You fat bastard!”. The song rejoices in everyday crapness with unhinged, surreal humour: “Carlton touts! The angel of the Midlands has flown away, probably south / You can’t blame her, when the future is a flag pissed on and a king size bag of Quavers.”
Williamson’s poetry on ‘English Tapas’ is really something. Many have compared his unflinching portrayals to that of John Cooper Clarke or Ian Dury, but the most striking resemblance might actually be to the Modfather himself: Paul Weller. The muscular energy of the delivery is laced with fury, discipline and ludicrous humour. Within it, there is a deep, deep love of language.
If you already like Sleaford Mods, this album will be warmly received. It retains the urgency of previous offerings while honing the style without ever seeming over polished. If you haven’t heard or just don’t like them, it’s probably still worth a listen. It will force you to have an opinion, which in turn might force you to wonder how you arrived at that opinion in the first place.
Sleaford Mods Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Fri September 22 2017 - LONDON O2 Academy Brixton
Thu October 05 2017 - NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE Northumbria Students Union
Fri October 06 2017 - EDINBURGH Liquid Room
Sat October 07 2017 - GLASGOW O2 ABC
Thu October 19 2017 - LINCOLN Engine Shed
Fri October 20 2017 - SHEFFIELD O2 Academy Sheffield
Sat October 21 2017 - MANCHESTER Academy
Wed October 25 2017 - LEEDS Leeds Beckett Students Union
Thu October 26 2017 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Institute
Fri October 27 2017 - CARDIFF Cardiff Students' Union - Y Plas
Sat October 28 2017 - BRISTOL O2 Academy Bristol
Thu November 02 2017 - EXETER Exeter Lemon Grove
Fri November 03 2017 - SOUTHAMPTON Southampton Uni Students Union
Sat November 04 2017 - BRIGHTON Brighton Dome
Tue November 07 2017 - CAMBRIDGE Corn Exchange
Wed November 08 2017 - NORWICH Norwich Nick Rayns LCR UEA
Thu November 09 2017 - NOTTINGHAM Rock City
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