Album review: Sleaford Mods provide another musical lament for modern Britain
Sleaford Mods' new album is UK Grim.
- Sleaford Mods
- UK Grim
- ★★★☆☆
The rise of Sleaford Mods parallels the UK’s descent into a post-Brexit basketcase. But just as the never-ending negotiations about the Northern Ireland protocol can make you feel you’re trapped in a recurring dream, so Sleaford Mods’ obsessive orbiting of the same motifs of economic malaise and class dysfunction has the potential to lose its charms. That’s the case here, as vocalist Jason Williamson returns to the familiar theme of the one per cent versus the rest and the hypocrisies of right-wing politicians.
These views are heartfelt and no doubt drawn from real experience – but there’s a thin line between speaking truth to power and droning on slightly and it is not always clear on what side Seaford Mods stand. “I’m not here to please you, mate Liz Truss, conformity,” Williamson sputters during the title track, sounding like an artificial intelligence chatbot instructed to write Sleaford Mods lyrics on the fly. Later, he exclaims, “you’re all getting mugged by the aristocracy”.
The music, at least, is generally sublime. Dry Cleaning’s Florence Shaw is a powerhouse on Force 10 From Navarone, her deadpan vocals intertwining powerfully with Williamson’s hand-grenade delivery (when she says, “you f***ing moron,” the song reaches a place of sublime perfection). It’s the post-punk, Brexit Britain equivalent of Islands In The Stream – and who wouldn’t want that?
Then there is the wonderful Smash Each Other Up, featuring a stripped-to-its-essence r’n'b thump – the perfect counterpoint for Williamson’s broken glass vocals and some light relief from the gutbucket synth-pop that characters much of the album.
Elsewhere, alas, the suspicion is that Sleaford Mods are unable to escape the world they have built for themselves. Amid the effervescent electronica, there are moments when this lament for broken Britain starts to sound like a broken record.
