The inimitable Sleaford Mods will be back in Newcastle on Wednesday 24th November after an overdue enforced absence.
Averaging a more or less annual appearance pre-pandemic was a big factor in the pair’s steady but seemingly unstoppable momentum, and they remain one of the UK’s finest musical exports and premier must-see live acts.
Anyone who has yet to see Jason Williamson rasping away on stage, replete with his savage ad-libs, machine-gunned social commentary and unhinged dance manoeuvres, has yet to experience one of the most singular acts ever to grace the stage.
The outfit are touring 2021’s ‘Spare Ribs’, which charted at #4 in the UK in January, as the duo inch ever closer to one of the most unlikely number one albums ever, pulling in more and more devotees as they go.
It’s hard to believe ‘Spare Ribs’ was released in 2021 given all that has happened in between, just as it seems way longer since Scottish post-rockers Mogwai scored their first chart-topping record after a quarter of a century of music just a few weeks later. It seems unlikely that Sleaford Mods will be waiting as long to finally achieve the feat as they continue to subtly increase the dosage of musicality on each of their subsequent albums, which feel tighter each time.
Having already aced their eras as excoriating chroniclers of Austerity Britain and Brexit Britain, the latest album finds Williamson casting a distinctly unamused eye over Covid Britain. Whatever may come next doesn’t seem worth thinking about. Set to Andrew Fearn’s always delectable servings of knuckle-dragging bass, feisty percussion and pre-packed punk stylings, Williamson seems to be in slightly more trammelled form than long-term listeners are accustomed to, with much of the caustic humour just out of reach compared to usual in a grim indicator of the times.
Despite this, the anger remains palpable and the finesse proves ever more potent, of absolutely no detriment to a band as unique as you’ll find. Despite being a harbinger of the post-punk wave of stylish, arty Brexit era bands currently making their play, nobody has truly attempted the fruitless task of trying to be anything like Sleaford Mods.
All that said: this is a no-brainer of a ticket. Artists that future generations of music fanatics will be jealous of the opportunity to have witnessed live in their prime are few and far between, but Sleaford Mods have been in that lane for several years and counting.
Tickets, priced at £27.75 in advance, are available from ticketmaster.co.uk.
