Sleaford Mods - UK GRIM - The Singles, Reviewed

Sleaford Mods - UK GRIM - The Singles, Reviewed

Sleaford Mods are probably the most well renowned act in the modern post-punk scene. Starting in 2007 with vocalist Jason Williamson ranting over illegally sampled funk, reggae and rock loops, he teamed up with producer Andrew Fearn around 2011, and since then have released 6 albums. First with the more primitive fan favourites 'Austerity Dogs' and 'Divide and Exit', the Mods carved out a sound all of their own, Fearn's backdrop of raw, gritty drums and bass and esoteric synth fragments perfectly complimenting Jason's rage-fuelled rants on the shittyness of UK life. They went on to expand this sound on later albums like 'English Tapas' and particularly their most recent album 'Spare Ribs'. which on the whole went for a much more eclectic, textured and glitchy sonic palette which was very much welcomed by me. While some of the kinks did need ironing out a little bit, with news of a new album, 'UK GRIM', set for release on March 10th, I hoped that they would continue to do exactly that. So, let's check out the singles and see if they do.

UK GRIM

This lead single and title track, for lack of a better term, sees the duo doing what they do best. Beginning with a sinister sounding synth intro, the track quickly transitions into a snappy drum beat atop a deep, grinding, belligerent bassline, joined in the chorus by a dirty, noisy, lo-fi guitar riff, as well as a decent additional riff in the bridge too, so fairly straightforward but enjoyable. Lyrically it's business as usual for Jason, lampooning those in power in both the UK government and the music industry bigwig businessmen, with references to Vladimir Putin, Liz Truss, Bruce Banner, as well as people with "white shirt lunch bellies and wealth measles." Also, I've no idea what "penetrate the cornflakes" is supposed to mean but it gave me a chuckle regardless. These lyrics may seem slightly obscure and abstract, and are, but all done in that typically amusing, snarky, biting, stream-of-consciousness style that's served them well for years. The refrain, as basic as it is, does have a deceptively infectious quality which works nicely over the chorus, and the sharp edged singing in the bridge portion, while a little strained, is certainly not void of appeal and carries that same distinct, unfiltered, raw charm that makes their music so fun (depending on your definition of fun of course). So it's certainly a decent single: a raw, minimal, yet groovy instrumental, characterful vocals and idiosyncratic, satirical lyrics, but perhaps I would have liked a bit more, because again, it's not bad, but it just feels pretty by the numbers at this point.

Force 10 From Navarone (Ft. Florence Shaw)

Given that this track is definitely a more experimental affair than the title track, and on paper had every reason to be great, it’s quite a shame that it ended up actually being slightly more disappointing. Instrumentally, this track is definitely more electronic leaning, it’s glitchier, wobblier, more textural, and given the quality of previous tracks like ‘Kebab Spider’ or ‘I Don’t Rate You’, this seems like a home run. The problem is though, it just feels slightly lifeless. Like yeah, the Mr Oizo esque bass wubs are fun, but the beat feels really flat, and the touches of metallic guitar and very generic bass sound don’t help. Also, I don’t think I really have to say much about the GarageBand acoustic guitar in the outro, do I? A friend I was listening with said “I think the guy doing the beats has lost his mojo”, and I have to agree here. The vocals and lyrics don’t exactly pull it out of this rut either. Jason’s performance isn’t bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s really nothing special, and the lyrics just seem really opaque and non-specific. I can maybe see some commentary on the general  “little britain” mentality in fleeting spots but that’s it, the rest just seems like really vague, grim, scuzzy imagery. Perhaps I just don’t get this one, I’m not sure. Surely though, a contribution from Dry Cleaning vocalist Florence Shaw should brighten things up a bit right? After all, Dry Cleaning are one of the best respected post-punk bands out right now, and when the duo had guests like Billy Nomates and Amy Taylor on the last album, they ended up being some of the best tracks. Well, not really no. Florence’s hushed deadpan delivery might be really cool to some people, but in my opinion it just doesn’t really work, especially given how flat the track is already. I’ll say this as well, I generally like the Mods’ angry, stream-of-consciousness approach to lyrics and performance, but it’s lines like “fucking viral fucking Batman video you fucking moron” that make me understand what people me when they say it just sounds like angry people shouting. This track had so many reasons to be great but just came out quite weak, which is a real shame.

So Trendy (Ft. Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro)

I’ll say this now, this is quite handily my favourite single so far. I think the beat is actually pretty cool here, with some sputtery, glitchy synth sounds laid atop a crisp, metallic drum beat that gives the track a nice danceability. Yes, some of the synth sounds are a little on the squelchy, farty side, but I think they’re actually implemented quite well. The same could be said for the guitar, provided by Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro, who provides some nice, slightly sinister, sometimes almost surf rock guitar leads throughout that actually work very nicely with the very synthetic instrumental. The only thing is that there’s very little low end on this track, and so while I do like the instrumental, the addition of a cool belligerent bassline wouldn’t have gone amiss. Vocally it’s also a lot more solid, with Jason sounding much more energised, and utilising a classic, shouted staccato delivery, that gives the track a very unexpected infectious quality, similar to many other great Mods tracks. The lyrics aren’t too bad either as it happens. As the title might suggest, Jason seems to be aiming his vitriol at those desperate, sometimes self-obsessed people clambering for fame on social media, and doing all they can to keep it. One might say this sentiment is overdone, but I thought it was quite effectively done. Finally, as the icing on the proverbial cake, not only does Dave Navarro get in on the action, but Jane’s Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell also has a guest verse, and as opposed to Florence’s on 'Navarone', I think is very good indeed. Not only does Perry do a good job at expanding on the subject matter, discussing not only internet celebrities’ egos, but also the strange parasocial relationship that may build as a result of fame. This is then delivered with an animated, manic vocal delivery that works very nicely to counter Jason’s. So while not perfect, this is easily my favourite single of the three: a synthetic, glitchy, quirky beat with some catchy vocal performances, intriguing lyrics, and great features to boot.

So, when considering overall album expectations, I’m a little iffy. I’m sure that they’ll continue to expand their musical horizons somewhat on this new one, but their single choices so far have been very odd. Granted, on the whole they’ve not been bad, quite far from it in at least one case, but the impact, musical evolution and sense of attitude in the music you get from most Mods releases seems to be slightly dialled down. Although, given it’s set to be their longest album to date, they still have plenty of time to impress.