No group has documented the miseries of Tory England quite like the Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods. With a bombproof productivity, Jason Williamson and his incendiary diatribes plus his buddy at the bases Andrew Fearn, have planted themselves, as if nothing had happened, on this twelfth album.
His new work follows in the wake of “Spare Ribs” (Rough Trade, 21), one of the most inspired of his prolific career, and shows them with his fang as twisted as ever. the single “UK GRIM” (which gives the album its title) takes them to irresistible grounds of moody dirty electronica. It is not surprising, considering the ridiculous political trajectory of the country of the fleeting Liz Truss, where the political and economic elites laugh out loud at a citizenry increasingly abandoned to their fate. Like everywhere, actually.
Musically, Fearn is committed to delving into the variety -within its minimalism- that has been characterizing the duo’s proposal for some time now. Thus, old-school hip hop foundations shine on cuts like “D.I. Why” or the splendid and final “Rhythms Of Class”, while its formula is refined in “Force 10 From Navarone”, with a starring appearance by Florence Shaw, the hieratic vocalist of Dry Cleaning. And he gets brutalized in elementary school “Tilldiper”, “Apart From You” o “Pit 2 Pit”. In that caveman electro-punk record they remain unbeatable.
But irresistible moments – the electronic kraut of “On The Ground”, the rhythmic pulse of “Smasj Each Other Up”– They alternate with half-done playful experiments that do not quite come together, as is the case with “Right Wing Beast”. Williamson is again much more comfortable rhyming than trying to sing, and “So Trendy”, with the surprising participation of Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro, it remains a bit in no man’s land. TO “UK GRIM” it would have been nice to get rid of a couple of cuts to increase the punch of the set. That said, there is plenty of material here to continue trusting the almost infallible nose of the British.