Sleaford Mods – Spare Ribs (2020)

Sleaford Mods spend the duration of Spare Ribs flashing their teeth but never doing much to actually bite down. Given the beef that they started with England contemporaries IDLES, Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn seem to view themselves as the old guard, even though they have just been around for about a decade and a half, with their first proper debut coming out in 2013. Although the two frequent political commentary and a sound adjacent to post-punk, their words come with the same hollowness as the criticisms they lobbed.

There are certainly some bright moments across Spare Ribs and a general sense of fun amidst the satirical and scintillating lyricism. “Nudge It” is the first big standout moment for me, with vocalist Amy Taylor really bringing a good energy along with Williamson in the same way she did on the recent John Prine duet with Viagra Boys. “Nudge It” features a catchy hook, repetitive loops that seep into your head, and energetic vocals. The opening to “Elocution” is also humorous in its examination of independent venues, but doesn’t really hold its form after a few replays. The title track, “Spare Ribs“, is similarly catchy and bouncy, with electronics that feel like a level in an old arcade game.

However, more often than not, the album just feels monotonous and becomes tiresome after a few listens. Williamson isn’t a dynamic vocalist ultimately, with uniqueness behind his thick accent but identical performances throughout. The instrumentation doesn’t pull out the best of Williamson either, as the electronic dance-punk form here lacks variety and ends up feeling tedious after only a few songs. Even within a song the usage of loops, ones of which aren’t revolutionary to begin with, makes it so each track feels like it drags.

The moments in which Mods take a different spin on their sound, they do liven things up sonically, even if the sound is far from high-spirited. “Out There” feels cynical and dense, with straightforward and memorable lyrics like the immediately identifiable “let’s get Brexit fucked by a horse’s penis”. “Mork n Mindy” has a slick and dim digital noise throughout, soulful vocals from Billy Nomates, and one of the better vocal performances from Williamson. “Closer Fishcakes” is also a solid ending to the record, feeling somber and focused. These moments provide the album necessary diversity that feels a little too infrequent.

Williamson said about IDLES, “Music can’t solve political problems. And I think their take on it is cliched, patronising, insulting and mediocre.” This is where the understanding about Spare Ribs becomes quizzical, as Sleaford Mods so frequently spend the album making political and social statements about the state of their country. This leads me to believe that the lads believe that they are leading the revolution and publicly shun those who don’t follow the same step as them, even if they see no merit in their own lyrical fight to begin with. It doesn’t put a great look on them when they talk out of the other side of their mouth, and Spare Ribs feels a little more deflated with the underlying context. That their songs are more often mediocre than marvelous only leaves their efforts a few steps back from those around them.

by Johnny Harrison