Sleaford Mods, Glasgow review: 'pugnacious'
Sleaford Mods embraced their lo-fi aesthetic at this Glasgow show, writes Fiona Shepherd
Sleaford Mods, Barrowland, Glasgow ★★★
Nottingham duo Sleaford Mods had been grafting for years before breaking through around a decade ago with a substantial catalogue there for the discovering. Has “fame” changed them? Not a bit it seems, apart from the queue of willing guest artists on their records and the simple but sleek stage set-up around their resolutely DIY performance: microphone for frontman Jason Williamson and laptop on flight case for Andrew Fearn, the man with seemingly the easiest job in music - simply hit the play button to unleash the backing track and then enjoy the rider provision.
Those backing tracks provided most of the sonic interest, from the beefed-up electro of The Unwrap to the bouncy bassline of TCR (with Fearn even moved to move on the latter), while Williamson spat out his observations like a lairy street preacher. The Mods fully embraced their lo-fi aesthetic with a tendency for tracks to fade out as if unsure where to go next. Next there was usually some pugnacious but wry evocation of broken Britain, delivered in a one-note apoplectic style which started to grate quickly.
Williamson was joined (on tape) by actress Gwendoline Christie cackling and Big Special’s indie crooning on The Good Life and in person by Sue Tompkins of recently reformed Glasgow band Life Without Buildings on No Touch. Tompkins was no more melodic as a vocalist, her idiosyncratic style a sort of childlike staccato which provided a tonal match for Williamson.
Gina Was provided a brief stark contrast, with Williamson initially delivering this autobiographical account of playground sexual harassment unaccompanied like some bleak black comedy. A quick trawl of other irreverent song titles – UK Grim, Bad Santa, Kebab Spider, Elitist GOAT – suggested he would cry if he wasn’t laughing. None, however, came close to the best number of the night – a faithful if shouty cover of Pet Shop Boys’ West End Girls.
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