It only takes 33 seconds for Jason Williamson to drop an F-bomb on “The Good Life,” the first track from The Demise of Planet X, Sleaford Mods’ first record in three years. This latest record, released January 16, isn’t much of a departure from the duo’s signature sound: Williamson furiously yelping and rapping over Andrew Fearn’s driving electronic beats. For a group that has always trafficked in anger, a world unraveling into chaos is perfect fodder for a Sleaford Mods record.
For American listeners, Sleaford Mods’ music could be a head-shaking conundrum. Williamson often focuses on issues relevant to British listeners. Some of his slang (like “minging”)—as well as his affinity for the word “cunt”—might get lost in translation. But if you live on the west side of the Atlantic, there are plenty of more familiar pop culture references (Pete Davidson, Don Draper, and more) to dig into.
Sleaford Mods is one of those bands that felt fully formed upon inception, and over the past two decades, any changes to that configuration have been subtle. Despite that, The Demise of Planet X feels a bit more polished than prior releases. Williamson and Fearn did the bulk of the recording at their regular studio JT Soar in Nottingham, but additional time at Abbey Road Studios and Invada Studios helped sharpen the edges of Fearn’s typically pithy production.
The duo also expands its palette by including guest features on five tracks. Gwendoline Christie (of “Game of Thrones”) fame turns in an unhinged, expletive-filled rant on “The Good Life,” while Sue Tompkins from Life Without Buildings adds a nagging vocal to the gauzy “No Touch.”
New Zealand indie-folk singer Aldous Harding appears on “Elitest G.O.A.T.,” perhaps the best and most immediate track on The Demise of Planet X. After a mélange of punchy piano lines, Fearn’s stabbing bass, and Williamson’s syncopated ranting, Harding’s vocals on the chorus serve as a roomy balm for this driving track. By occasionally removing the focus from Williamson’s man-yells-at-clouds rapping, the guest spots work to make his shouting even more powerful.The Demise of Planet X can still rile up the duo’s British fans, even though the country has turned away from far-right politics. Things have gone in a different direction here in the United States, and Williamson knows that our politics have a global reach. On lead single “Megaton,” the frontman shouts, “What form of murder do you want?” We live in a precarious time. Hopefully we’re not moving towards a period where, as Williamson puts it, there’s “no war, no death, no point when there’s no fucker left.”