Sleaford Mods-Key Markets (2015)

Sleaford Mods-Key Markets (2015)

“Growing up in a particular neighborhood, growing up in a working-class family, not having much money, all of those things fire you and can give you an edge, can give you an anger.”

Gary Oldman

By: Ghost Writer

Strong bass and drums, that’s the basis of the of the Sleaford Mods brutal working class British approach, not so far removed from the tried and true long lasting formula of Mark E. Smith and his amazing group, the mighty The Fall.

Slowly the SM have been creating a powerful reputation as a confrontational street level band combining really unusual elements, taking Mark E. Smith legacy some steps forward, by adding more contemporary influences like grime, hip hop and electronica, the Sleaford Mods are fearless when it comes to getting into the melting pot of influences and their full on attack on elitism and the status quo on the UK, Live Tonight starts with street chants and a brutal bass line that serves as the base for the powerful rants the band is world known for, with Jason Williamson as the damned street poet spewing pure and nasty punk and hip hop inspired poetry along the chorus repeated again and again until it becomes a powerful mantra, just to be followed by the militant and urgent No One´s Bothered another amazing tune with a straight ahead throttle possessing the maniac energy of an unstoppable train, as the band understands that precisely that straight ahead approach is their principal strength.

Bronx in a Six is another piece of pure vocal poison, as Williamson again takes the spotlight and starts a powerful delivery with a flow that hip hoppers would be envious about, but let´s not forget that great rhythmic backup created by Andrew Fern, the man in charge of the whole musical programming in the band, a man whose talents shine on, on the more groove oriented Silly Me, a little funky piece which not only gives more space to Williamson delivery, but also gives a visit to the dance floor.

The SM might not be something completely original, as a matter of fact the sound just like a sum of all the rebellious street music that has hit the UK streets in the last decades, conjuring a really bad ass type of post punk that seems perfectly suited for the current state of this country, as political starts to become a turbulent space where people like Nigel Farage, Russell Brand and current popular flame Jeremy Corbyn.

In an admirable way The SM manage to push their almost minimalistic agenda across the whole record, they give us a breath with the static and vulgar Cunt Make It Up, which also features some elaborate sampling, just before diving headfirst in the amazingly catchy Face To Faces, which might be the most memorable moment in this whole intense and electrifying sledgehammer of a record, the SM raise with ease as one of the most direct, uncompromising and really fresh bands in the UK, taking the streets to really universal levels and making something new and interesting in the way, this is the sound of post punk, grime and hip hop coming all together at once in order to denounce the bruised state of the working class people in the UK, it´s intense and rude as hell, but that’s the way the street is and this guys are not an inch shy to denounce it, and while they get a little bit lost on Arabia, they manage to introduce some unexpected changes on the more laid back Tarantula Deadly Cargo, a song that brakes a little bit with the whole direction of the record, but manages somehow to stay within the spirit of it, and leaving us unprepared for the astonishing grand finale, featuring the heavy sampled and obscure Rupert Trousers, and the lean and mean Giddy On The Ciggies, minimalistic, hard driven and simply brutal.

Key Markets is a record that shows amazing progress within a band that logic dictate us that should be about progress, but the SM are quick to make you know that they are not one trick pony, and that this project is about to expand more and more within their minimalistic, street, naked attack, an obvious sign of turmoil and anarchy happening all again, within the monarchy.