Sleaford Mods - "English Tapas"

Sleaford Mods I've been wanting to talk about for a long time.  This British combination of Post Punk, Rap, Minimalist Music, Spoken Word, and pure anger has been around for quite some time.  Their 2007 self titled album I actually really loved.  Between the very wordy verses and the spit-in-your-face attitude, there was TONS to really get into.  Sleaford Mods continued to bring out a whole lot of the same elements on their next album "The Originator", their style among a whole lot of their early recordings actually stayed fairly similar.  Then Sleaford Mods released their first "real" album "Austerity Dogs", and album that overall didn't really hit me that much at all.  I felt like a ton of these tracks seriously took so long to get going.  Once they did get going they were solid, but they were much more patience testing.  I still enjoyed a ton of what was going on however, especially their attitudes.  Sleaford Mods however on "Divide and Exit" really started to get the ball rolling.  The instrumentals here were certainly still minimal and chilly, but there was atleast a standout post punk sound to everything.  Even the usual rants were much easier to swallow, if that production increased just a little they'd be certainly set. And indeed they did with 2015's "Key Markets".  This album showcased some of Sleaford Mods most intense verses yet, almost pulling out some Punk Rap that bizarrely works wonderfully.  The instrumentals were still very minimal and straightforward, but here they sounded great and better produced.  To put it bluntly, the single "B.H.S." released for this new album is more or less what Sleaford Mods do best, so let's dive in to everything else shall we?

This album starts off with “Army Nights”, which if you’re familiar with Sleaford Mods, is pretty straightforward.  Instrumentally, if you’re not used to their style this could easily be taken as boring or just plain dull.  However, I’ve always found the HUGE contrast between Andrew Fearn’s cold instrumentals and Jason Williamson’s bombastic verses to be absolutely fascinating.  To be honest though, this intro really doesn't hit me that hard.  It has the same blasting vocal passages and lyrical topics that Sleaford Mods have always stuck with, and that usual tongue-in-cheek humor is there as well.  My only real issue here in the intensity.  As the track rolls on Jason certainly gets more and more intense, but I used to get this gigantic feeling of rebellion and totally justified anger from Sleaford Mods.  Here, it’s certainly still there, just a little watered down.  It’s certainly not bad though.  Thankfully, the duo quickly get their shit together for “Just Like We Do”.  Personally, I find the intro on this track to be absolutely hilarious.  In a time where there’s all these sub-genres in music and bizarre gimmicks, Sleaford Mods really are the polar opposite and they do a great job of knocking it here.  Jason’s performance here is so much more intense and in your face, it’s much more in the realm of what I expect from him.    Andrew’s instrumentals here, while lets be honest haven’t gotten a huge production upgrade (and probably never will), come off so much more hypnotic and work so much better.  Not to mention, you can always count on these guys for having plenty of material to bring up and call people out on, from social media outbursts to has-beens.  Overall, this works fantastically for Sleaford Mods.  Sadly though, the duo kinda go easy on us for the rest of the first half of the album.  On “Moptop”, the instrumentals get closer and closer to the post punk feel that they’re known for.  But to be honest, it’s Jason’s performance here that really doesn’t even sound like something Sleaford Mods would touch.  His performance does eventually pick up and get more intense, but overall this one really doesn’t click at all.  In the last few years, Sleaford Mods have slowly been bringing in more tongue-in-cheek humor to their music, but for my liking it just takes over a little too much here.  Plus, I just really don’t care for Jason’s vocal performance.  “Messy Anywhere” starts off with these same off kilter vocals from Jason that seriously don’t do anything for me.  By this point in the album, I just feel like the duo are taking it easy on us.  I remember the feeling of listening to their earlier material for the first time and feeling like I was just getting this constant onslaught of energy.  This is FAR from that feeling.  Then we have these vocals that I really hate to keep bringing up but they’re really getting on my nerves.  I get it, Jason Williamson is no classically trained vocalist.  But this seriously is just not working for him at all.  His little punk rap thing he had going last album was fantastic, here he just sounds like he doesn’t care, which in a way is pretty damn punk in itself.  It’s just not for me.  

On “Time Sands”, I actually seriously dig Andrew Fearn’s funky bass riff.  While the last few tracks here have been a little boring (man, that stung saying that), this is a step in the right direction.  I love Jason Williamson’s performance here, as he starts off by stating that he’s not paranoid, then goes on to sound VERY paranoid in his commute to work among other daily activities.  But when we get to later moments of the track, “Time Sands” just comes off as a little too repetitive for may liking.  And trust me, I know that repetition is a huge element to what post punk was built on, but I just don’t think it works well here.  Thankfully though for the duo, they really shake the rust off completely when it comes to the fiery and easily most angry track yet, “Snout”.  This is honestly what I expected to hear from the get-go.  Here, Andrew’s instrumentals are intense, and Jason pulls together quite possibly his finest rant here as he goes off on all sorts of social media, and it’s absolutely glorious.  Here, Sleaford Mods have really found a great balance of serious anger and bitterness, with just enough humor that doesn’t make them get taken any less seriously.  It’s funny, it’s sharply written, “Snout” is absolutely wonderful.  Up next is “Drayton Manored”, and as the album goes on, these instrumentals just keep picking up.  As simple as they are, they really work well with the very dirty, very blue collar sound of Sleaford Mods.  Also as these tracks roll on, Jason just seems to get more fierce and angrier, which I can’t get enough of.  This one is bizarrely catchy and sticks with you LONG after it’s over.  Let me just say thing though, if you haven’t really followed Sleaford Mods in the past, you’re going to want the lyrics handy for this album.  And even then, your going to need to dive into a British slang dictionary just to get half of what’s going on.  It’s a lot to take in, and a lot of the time you may just need to pause the track and take everything in.  Boy am I ever glad this album picked up a bit.  Up next is “Carlton Touts”, which may have the most actual “punk” sounding instrumental here.  It makes me happy to see Sleaford Mods really getting their energy together.  Topics of the bar and drinking are really taking up a good portion of their lyrics these days, which I’d say works fine with their sound.  “Carlton Touts” overall is a solid tune.  Andrew’s instrumental is hypnotizing, Jason sounds much more fierce, and while over the years I feel like Sleaford Mods have gotten a little less urgent, this is still solid.  

“Cuddly” starts off the last leg of our Sleaford Mods experience for this evening.  This track is probably the closest thing you’re going to hear to actual Rap on this album.  Even more bizarrely, with all of the almost industrial vibes in the instrumental going on, I can see Death Grips fans going nuts over this.  Even Jason’s performance here is absolutely brutal and vicious.  It all works really nicely together actually, and it brings a real sense of reinvigoration to the duo’s music.  The beats are still minimal, but it’s more fleshed out and not just a blast of power.  “Dull” ironically is anything but, and the opening mysterious bass line is brilliant.  Here, we see Sleaford Mods returning to a much more bare bones sound.  While Jason’s delivery is fiery and entertaining, I’m sort of realizing a really big issue with this album.  I feel like honestly they’re sort of running out of ideas.  Their sound is still exciting and all, but a lot of their ideas are slowly being repackaged and reused even if it’s just slightly.  “BHS” on the other hand is an upbeat jam that really hits home on every level.  As far as an instrumental goes, this may just be the most fleshed out one on the entire album.  “BHS” to me is more than just a track for Sleaford Mods, it’s almost like a mission statement, and if you haven’t listened to the group yet, this may be a good place to start.  Let’s round this album off, shall we? This album ends with “I Feel Do Wrong”.  While I may not be into these instrumentals seriously at all, I give them credit for going for a little something out of the box.  My main issue once again are Jason’s vocals.  I know that he’s really going for more singing passages, but man they really aren’t all that good.  It’s an alright album overall, but I certainly wish I could enjoy it more.  

Rating : 7.1/10

Give A Listen To:  “Just Like We Do”, "Snout", "Cuddly", "BHS"

Overall Thoughts:  I was a little let down by this to be honest.  Over the years I've felt like Sleaford Mods have just gotten better and better, but this is a big hiccup for the band.  A lot of the material here seems a little recycled, and Jason and Andrew for the first half of the album really couldn't seem to get on the same page.  That being said, this also has some of the freshest Sleaford Mods material I've heard in a while, and absolutely some of the funniest.  So this is a bit all over the place.  If you're new to the band, this isn't the place to start.  But if you want to hear what Sleaford Mods do best without pushing the envelope too far, this is an alright album.