Sleaford Mods experienced some of their greatest success with 2021's Top Five U.K. hit Spare Ribs. It's easy to understand why Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn's cathartic rants resonated so strongly, considering their audience was struggling with a global pandemic on top of Brexit and the ongoing political and cultural turmoil of the 2020s. If lockdowns helped focus the duo's ire on Spare Ribs, then UK Grim finds the pair responding to an increasingly complicated post-pandemic world. Fortunately, they're up to the task. ...
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Sleaford Mods experienced some of their greatest success with 2021's Top Five U.K. hit Spare Ribs. It's easy to understand why Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn's cathartic rants resonated so strongly, considering their audience was struggling with a global pandemic on top of Brexit and the ongoing political and cultural turmoil of the 2020s. If lockdowns helped focus the duo's ire on Spare Ribs, then UK Grim finds the pair responding to an increasingly complicated post-pandemic world. Fortunately, they're up to the task. Sleaford Mods are still honed in on their usual targets. The thrumming title track plays like the musical equivalent of Spitting Image , namedrops everyone from Putin to Bruce Banner, and even ties the duo's chart success to the increasingly dysfunctional state of the nation. Desperation fuels portraits of austerity ranging from the hollowed-out ballad "Apart from You" to "Tilldipper," a churning sketch that chronicles small acts of rebellion like stealing on the job. However, Fearn and Williamson also expand their horizons on UK Grim. Williamson's fragmented outbursts are particularly sharp, whether he skewers the "post-punk dross" on "D.I.Why" with the highly specific burn "You do playlists for Fred Perry," taps into bleak nostalgia for his childhood on "I, Claudius," describing "loving your country" as a "silent enemy that hangs like nets," or unleashes a torrent of thoughts about vanity and addiction on "Pit 2 Pit," which makes the "straight to your door" convenience of online thrift shopping sound like a threat. These prolific monologues might make it hard for some producers to get a sound in edgewise, but Fearn's work is especially ear-catching on UK Grim. Hints of U.K. drill heighten the menace of pandemic-shortened fuses on "Smash Each Other Up"; the bouncy rhythm that drives "Right Wing Beast" stretches out into a queasy monotony; and the combination of a booming, '80s hip-hop beat and chiming guitars on "Rhythms of Class" is equally jarring and hypnotic. The album's collaborations provide two of its brightest highlights: "Force 10 from Navarone," which features Dry Cleaning's Florence Shaw, works as well as expected, with her icy non sequiturs ("It's my roadkill hat/Don't touch it") complementing Williamson's heated delivery and pushing the dubstep-like wobble of Fearn's production further into shadowy surrealism. "So Trendy," a meeting of the minds with Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro, is an out-of-nowhere triumph. Its gleaming sci-fi satire finds Williamson harassed by passwords and facial recognition software while Farrell spins a parallel tale of jetpack men and social media influencers who flex for virtual clout over a melody that's catchier than it has any right to be. That "So Trendy" sounds like it was beamed in from a different planet from the rest of UK Grim just offers more proof that Sleaford Mods' range keeps growing along with their success. It's a slightly more disjointed experience than Spare Ribs, but Fearn and Williamson are making music for themselves first and fighting back against evil and stupidity the only way they can. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi
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