Divide and Exit by Sleaford Mods

The current foul-mouthed darlings of music press from London to New York, Nottingham’s Sleaford Mods, have unleashed their eighth album, Divide and Exit. From the same neck of the woods as Robin Hood, Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson (rants) and Andrew Fearn (the rest) have an agenda to steal rock ‘n’ roll from rich rock stars and give it back to the poor.

Williamson doesn’t sing. Or rap. He pukes the truth. Often compared to prior poet laureates of the working class, Mark E. Smith, Steve Ignorant, and John Cooper Clarke, Williamson is really more in tune with the anti-hero’s of Alan Silitoe’s kitchen-sink dramas in Saturday Night, Sunday Morning and The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner.

No sacred cows are left unbutchered or stones unturned, from St. George's flag twats to vegetarian vets, twats who watch old punk bands, and “Smithy,” the Nottingham boy done good who sells rich people his Paul Smith clothing brand — they shoot clothes horses, don’t they? They would if Sleaford Mods had their way. The white-trash reggae stab of “Tiswas” is a standout track in this regard.

Sometimes the world needs people to shake up the apathetic, soulless mediocrity of the Zzzz Factor, etc., and they’re here in Sleaford Mods. Who would have thought that a band with beats from a food bank, bass from a thrift store, and jail-cell vocals would make the most entertaining album of the year. They’ll never make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but as they decree, “Who cares about rock stars anymore” and “You’ve had your 15 minutes on Facebook” – fair play to you, sirs!

• Album: Divide and Exit
• Artist: Sleaford Mods
• Label: Harbinger Sound
• Songs: (1) Air Conditioning (2) Tied up in Nottz (3) A Little Ditty (4) You’re Brave (5) Strike Force (6) The Corgi (7) From to Richards (8) Liveable Shit (9) Under the Plastic and N.C.T. (10) Tiswas (11) Keep Out of It (12) Smithy (13) Middle Men (14) Tweet Tweet Tweet