SLEAFORD MODS, THE SUGARMILL, STOKE ON TRENT, 26TH FEBRUARY 2015

‘Jolly F**ker’ is the name of the track that brought this duo to my attention. An infectious loop of bass and drums (as opposed to drum and bass) with possibly the angriest vocal rant I’ve heard in some time. This isn’t spoken word, as the words aren’t so much spoken as spit out like and exorcism of a pissed off socially conscious demon. I needed to see the Sleaford Mods live.

For the uninitiated, the set up is minimal. One angry bloke prowls around a microphone stand and another not so angry fella orchestrates the loops via a tatty looking laptop. It really shouldn’t be that entertaining, but it is.

There is absolutely no messing around as vocalist Jason Williamson utters ‘Bunch of C**ts’ before launching into that very track. This sets the scene for the rest of the evening as counterpart and keeper of loops unleashed foot tapping, body shuffling and even pogo inducing tracks. Jason circles his mic stand frequently, prowling, strutting, eyeballing and entertaining the crowd. There is no doubt this chap has a lot to get off his chest, and ofcourse the air turns quite blue during most tracks, but he finds some space for the odd knowing smirk and shaking of hands with quite a lot of the audience. Likewise, laptop lord James is clearly having fun, despite a few accidental (?) wrong cues, and he also finds time to engage with the audience via the medium of hand shakes.

There is little between song banter, but who needs banter when each and every song comprises an engaging lecture of social commentry, whit and copious expletives? These pair are like an English Jay and Silent Bob, except you need to swap dope for council estate anger, the American accents for a lightly scary blighted blightly delivery, and talk of fame and bitches for rants about benefit Britain and social wrongness. OK, so they are nothing like Jay and Silent Bob.

Set highlights include the aforementioned ‘Jolly F**ker’ and the closing ‘Tweet Tweet’ which has the crowd repeating the vocal refrain long after the lights are up and the stage clear. There is nobody quite like the Sleaford Mods, visionary ranters, punk hop, mad mod? Take your pick, but if you like your music VERY angry, intelligent, whitty, liud and proud then you need to invest some time into this thoroughly English duo.