Sleaford Mods – ‘UK Grim’ album review
Over seven albums, Nottingham’s Sleaford Mods have cut a unique and transfixing niche in the UK music scene. From a wider pool of influences, the duo, consisting of frontman Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn, tend to marry UK hip-hop with post-punk. Having broken through with 2013’s provocative Austerity Dogs, Williamson has continued to give his unfiltered take on the state of his home country.
The running political commentary benefits from wry humour and candid annunciation. Meanwhile, Fearn marshalls backing instrumentals to flavour the narrative and engage the listener. This pioneering formula appeared to hit a musical and lyrical peak in 2021 with the broadly applauded Spare Ribs. Where Spare Ribs prospered from a comically dismissive reflection on the contemporary Covid-19 struggles, the brand new follow-up, UK Grim, falls short of hitting the same peaks, despite the UK government giving us plenty of opportunities to strike a deadly blow.
Listening through an entire Sleaford Mods album cover to cover is something I haven’t done on many occasions. Beyond the eventual abrasion inflicted by Williamson’s well-placed rants, they are often musically sparse. UK Grim is certainly no exception to the rule, but like oases in a desert, the album is redeemed by thoroughly quenching features.
After the ominous banner is raised by the title track, in which Williamson assertively spits the chorus: “This is UK Grim”. The cold industrial atmosphere and lyrics translate the album’s driving apolitical angle. “The rot’s set in,” Williamson said in press materials. “So much it’s trampled into our consciousness to the point where we have become as one with the Conservative Party. We’re all Conservative MPs now… servants of this really bleak sort of Aldi nationalism.”
The album’s first highlight, or oasis, comes courtesy of a brilliant collaboration with Dry Cleaning frontwoman Florence Shaw. ‘Force 10 From Navarone’ is a driving, certified banger that joins two powerful vocalists in their element as they trade lines over Fearn’s immersive synth and driving basslines. “Jason, why does the darkness elope? Cross-sectioned/ It’s not a drink/ And I don’t fucking smoke,” Williamson sings.
If ‘Force 10 From Navarone’ get’s your head bopping, ‘On The Ground’ should get you off your seat. In this next uptempo highlight, the familiar synth sound flows with danceable energy before a pulsating bassline adds welcomed torque to proceedings. As the sound fades, ‘Right Wing Beast’ fills the air as Williamson points another finger at the status quo: “What’s gone on? / What can I see? You’re all getting mobbed by the Aristocracy / What’s gone on? / What can I see? / You’re all getting mobbed by the Right Wing Beast”.
‘So Trendy’ marks another of the album’s more musically involved occasions and brings a new tone vocally, thanks to a collaboration with Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell. This time, Williamson’s vitriol splatters to the heavy-looming internet age.
Towards the end of the album, ‘Apart From You’ brings one of the most musically appealing moments. While much of the album suffers from a lack of variety, this track brings bouncing Ian Dury-style keys into the equation, which serves to clear some of the album’s thematically driven aggression.
The album closes out on another highpoint with ‘Rhythm of Class’, which brings pleasant guitar melodies to Williamson’s rapped verse and sung chorus. Overall, UK Grim is another well-produced album packed with important political messages, setting an excellent example for aspiring songwriters. However, a lack of characterising texture and lyrical variation risks banishing much of the album to a desert of obscurity. Fortunately, moments of quenching redemption make it a worthwhile listen, but perhaps not all in one bite.
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