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English Tapas [LP] * by Sleaford Mods.

Rating:

Performer Notes:

• Sleaford Mods were ahead of the curve when it came to reintroducing politics to music, and if English Tapas is anything to go by, they're also on the cutting edge of post-Brexit weariness. As on Key Markets, Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn serve up more character-driven songs that express their constant -- and always timely -- frustrations, whether they're skewering machismo on "Army Nights" or 21st century solipsism on songs like the attention-seeking "Snout" or "Just Like We Do," which calls out "pretentious little bastards on social medias." The duo's state of mind on English Tapas was foreshadowed not only on Key Markets but the T.C.R. EP, whose title track used a toy race car set as a nostalgic metaphor for spinning one's wheels. Fearn and Williamson capture this feeling of being stuck even more literally on ultra-repetitive tracks such as "Time Sands," where crickets and a hip-hop beat create a loop of despair, and "Cuddly," one of the few songs that mentions Brexit by name. Indeed, Sleaford Mods' austerity sounds more grim than bracing on English Tapas, a phrase Fearn saw on a pub's menu board for an item consisting of half a scotch egg, chips, a mini pork pie, and a pickle. With food like that, it's better to focus on drinking, and alcohol features prominently on "Messy Anywhere," "Carlton Touts," and "Drayton Manored," where Williamson's enervated harmonies when he sings "have you ever wondered why you wonder why?" underscore the feelings of emptiness that shadow the album. Perversely, the duo puts some of the catchiest songs at the end of English Tapas, though the increased hooks do little to lighten Williamson's words and mood. On "Dull," he spits out the title like it tastes bad, while "B.H.S." sets his hopelessness to a more active beat. He and Williamson close the album with the standout "I Feel So Wrong," one of their most melodic -- and desperate-sounding -- songs yet. It's an apt finale to English Tapas' numbness and frustration; it might not be as much fun as some of Sleaford Mods' earlier albums, but that's the point. ~ Heather Phares

Professional Reviews: Rolling Stone - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With echoes of the Fall and Throbbing Gristle, the stark tracks fittingly recall an era that demanded engaged art."

Uncut - "English Tapas continued their vital mission: social critique in which the grimness came accompanied by rabble-rousing power electronics and a scabrous wit."

NME (Magazine) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Williamson's sideways swipes at pop culture and his own big nights out are as hypnotic as Fearn's punked-up electronica which, despite its simplicity, is nigh impossible not to move to."

Paste (magazine) - "They are still taking the alienating minutiae of the modern day-to-day and converting it into something weird, brilliant and cheering as a friendly punch to the shoulder -- even when the subject matter turns grim."

Pitchfork (Website) - "ENGLISH TAPAS mostly finds Williamson further honing the contours of his singular East Midlands vernacular, with special attention paid to the lifestyles of the tragic and washed-up modern male..."

Format: Vinyl (1 Disc)

Country: USA

Release Date: 3 March, 2017

Label: Rough Trade

Dimensions: 30.5 x 30.5 x 0.6 centimeters (0.29 kg)

Performer Notes:

• Sleaford Mods were ahead of the curve when it came to reintroducing politics to music, and if English Tapas is anything to go by, they're also on the cutting edge of post-Brexit weariness. As on Key Markets, Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn serve up more character-driven songs that express their constant -- and always timely -- frustrations, whether they're skewering machismo on "Army Nights" or 21st century solipsism on songs like the attention-seeking "Snout" or "Just Like We Do," which calls out "pretentious little bastards on social medias." The duo's state of mind on English Tapas was foreshadowed not only on Key Markets but the T.C.R. EP, whose title track used a toy race car set as a nostalgic metaphor for spinning one's wheels. Fearn and Williamson capture this feeling of being stuck even more literally on ultra-repetitive tracks such as "Time Sands," where crickets and a hip-hop beat create a loop of despair, and "Cuddly," one of the few songs that mentions Brexit by name. Indeed, Sleaford Mods' austerity sounds more grim than bracing on English Tapas, a phrase Fearn saw on a pub's menu board for an item consisting of half a scotch egg, chips, a mini pork pie, and a pickle. With food like that, it's better to focus on drinking, and alcohol features prominently on "Messy Anywhere," "Carlton Touts," and "Drayton Manored," where Williamson's enervated harmonies when he sings "have you ever wondered why you wonder why?" underscore the feelings of emptiness that shadow the album. Perversely, the duo puts some of the catchiest songs at the end of English Tapas, though the increased hooks do little to lighten Williamson's words and mood. On "Dull," he spits out the title like it tastes bad, while "B.H.S." sets his hopelessness to a more active beat. He and Williamson close the album with the standout "I Feel So Wrong," one of their most melodic -- and desperate-sounding -- songs yet. It's an apt finale to English Tapas' numbness and frustration; it might not be as much fun as some of Sleaford Mods' earlier albums, but that's the point. ~ Heather Phares

Professional Reviews: Rolling Stone - 4 stars out of 5 -- "With echoes of the Fall and Throbbing Gristle, the stark tracks fittingly recall an era that demanded engaged art."

Uncut - "English Tapas continued their vital mission: social critique in which the grimness came accompanied by rabble-rousing power electronics and a scabrous wit."

NME (Magazine) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Williamson's sideways swipes at pop culture and his own big nights out are as hypnotic as Fearn's punked-up electronica which, despite its simplicity, is nigh impossible not to move to."

Paste (magazine) - "They are still taking the alienating minutiae of the modern day-to-day and converting it into something weird, brilliant and cheering as a friendly punch to the shoulder -- even when the subject matter turns grim."

Pitchfork (Website) - "ENGLISH TAPAS mostly finds Williamson further honing the contours of his singular East Midlands vernacular, with special attention paid to the lifestyles of the tragic and washed-up modern male..." Format: Vinyl (1 Disc) Country: USA Release Date: 3 March, 2017 Label: Rough Trade Dimensions: 30.5 x 30.5 x 0.6 centimeters (0.29 kg) © Copyright 2019 - SimplyBestPrices