Sleaford Mods
Punkʼs not dead! Donʼt you believe? Listen to Sleaford Mods! A perfect confirmation of the veracity of this statement and cyber-punk-rap for the 21st century. A computer in the minimalist role of a band, served by the simple Enter key, no pretense, no unnecessary hitting the buttons: just a direct dynamic base and shooting lyrics on the top of it, sharp and uncompromising, and a throaty voice whom you believe every word. Everything works convincingly, captivatingly, wonderfully. We have been hunting after this band after the first time we heard them as if they were the wildest game and it took a couple of years, but the time has come when we can proudly say they are on the trophy list for the upcoming edition of Pohoda.
30. January 2017
The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Observer, NME, Mojo, Uncut, and many other media rated the last album of post-punk band Sleaford Mods as 8 out of 10. According to the Guardian, they are the “Britainʼs angriest band, their sweary rants a brutal stream of working-class disaffection”. They will issue their tenth album English Tapas this March, will tour North America in the spring, and in early July they will perform also at Pohoda 2017.
Sleaford Mods described their style for The Independent as electronic minimalist punk-hop rap for the working class. Their lyrics criticise pop culture, celebrities, and poor working conditions. They talk about unemployment and many other social problems in the way that makes you believe them. Jason Williamson sings and writes the lyrics and Andrew Farn is in charge of music. The latter one replaced Simon Parfrement back in 2012 (though he continues to work with the band as their photographer and media contact). Their breakthrough album was the 2014ʼs Divide and Exit. According to The Quietus, the piece requires you to sit down, listen well, and suddenly you will not be able to concentrate on anything else. Nick Neyland of Pitchfork was stunned with the bitterness and fury with which Williamson shouts the lyrics out to the world.
So far the most successful year for the band was the 2015. This was when, in cooperation with The Prodigy, they recorded the song Ibiza for album The Day Is My Enemy, which also had a wonderful music video. They cooperated with Leftfield on the song Head and Shoulders. In July they released album Key Markets, which had extremely positive feedback in all major British media. The album was nominated for the IMPALA Award. In early January, they released single B.H.S. of the upcoming album English Tapas. It is about billionaire Philip Green who sold his network of stores, which caused that 11,000 people lost their jobs and they also lost extra £ 571,000,000 of pension fund. At the very time, Green had his dividend of £ 400,000,000 paid and he bought his third luxury yacht. What Sleaford Mods sang about him certainly cannot be described as a “love song”. The whole album is supposed to carry similar mood. Sleaford Modsʼ main asset, however, are live performances - the monotonously rocking Andrew (mostly with beer in his hand) and Williamson rolling down his verbal attack. We can confirm their concert at last yearʼs Primavera definitely was one of its peaks. Sleaford Mods will show at Pohoda 2017 what they understand under “rant rave”.