Key Markets, the latest album from Sleaford Mods, is an impressive show of force froma duo withthe chemistry that comes fromhaving worked together for years but none of the complacency. Combining elements of hip-hop, punk, and noise, the English duo specialize in irreverent, driving songs full of palpable anger, like a bastardized midpoint between The Fall andThe Streets. Vocalist Jason Williamson alternates between barely in-tune singing and full-on shouting, while producer Andrew Fearn matches his intensity with sparse yet forceful backing music, providing just enough to fill the spaces in his partnerspolemics. The album doesnt veer wildly from Austerity Dogs or Divide and Exit, but fleshes out Sleaford Mods sound in newways.
While the duo have been making albums since 2007 at a prolific pace, it wasnt until 2014s Divide and Exit thatthey began to earn international acclaim. In the year since, the duo have recorded tracks with The Prodigy, played their first series of highly anticipated US performances, and were the subject of an article in the Guardian bemoaning the fact that they werent nominated for a Mercury Prize. Sleaford Mods are well past the point of being able to come out of nowhere and take the music world by storm.
While the duo have been making albums since 2007 at a prolific pace, it wasnt until 2014s Divide and Exit thatthey began to earn international acclaim. In the year since, the duo have recorded tracks with The Prodigy, played their first series of highly anticipated US performances, and were the subject of an article in the Guardian bemoaning the fact that they werent nominated for a Mercury Prize. Sleaford Mods are well past the point of being able to come out of nowhere and take the music world by storm.