Sleaford Mods Vinyl Records
Combining the revolutionary fury of punk and hip-hop with the bleakness of austerity-era Great Britain, Sleaford Mods capture the spirit of their time with blunt eloquence. Andrew Fearn's minimalistic, intentionally cheap-sounding loops, guitars, and keyboards provide a fitting backdrop as Jason Williamson rants about politics, injustice, and pop culture with outrage, scathing humour, and every so often, rough-edged poignancy. The duo's first officially released albums, which included 2014's Divide and Exit, quickly won acclaim for their brash sounds and words. Sleaford Mods' sound grew more sombre on 2017's English Tapas -- which became a Top 20 hit in the U.K. -- but on albums such as 2021's Spare Ribs, they contrasted the grim realities of their subject matter with a more colourful, melodic approach.