Web: sleafordmods.com
Contact: taliamiller@roughtraderecords.com
Players: Jason Williamson, vocals; Andrew Fearn, programming
The stars of MC’s first cover story of 2026, British duo the Sleaford Mods fast appeared on our radar due to the almost-audible buzz, the undeniable freshness of their sound, and the fact that they’re just a lot of freaking fun. Jason Williamson (vocals) and Andrew Fearn (programming) might not look like rock stars. To be fair, aesthetically they’re the farthest thing from it. But there’s something altogether new about them, and that carries them a fair distance.
“We’re not a rock band, you know,” Williamson told MC. “Even [2013’s] Austerity Dogs is quite eclectic. There are hip-hop tracks, there’s bangers—even from that point when we got together, it reflected the fact that we like different kinds of music. So, I think that’s something that I’ve tried to hang on to, with my input to the band—to try and keep that variety in there. We don’t have a guitarist; guitarists lead the sound and create a huge part of the sound and the tone of a band, which is great. But we’ve always been a bit more progressive than that.”
The progressiveness, the genre-blending, the street poetry lyrics—all of that, we were aware of from listening to their recorded output on repeat for a couple of months. In that cover story, we wrote of Williamson’s “abrasive vocal delivery,” plus Andrew Fearn’s “minimalist yet undeniably infectious musicianship.” And all of that’s true. What we didn’t quite know prior to seeing them perform live was how damn funny they are.
Abrasive maybe, but Williamson’s delivery is all “working class fella in the bar, yelling at anyone who will listen.” It’s like a British Bill Burr in a post-punk band, albeit a Burr who is down on his luck, living in a doorway, and arguing with a plastic bag.
None of this is meant as an insult. Indeed, it’s all by design. The seemingly unhinged display, coupled with a majestic level of cussing, could be at odds with the actually incisive and thoughtfulness woven into the lyrics. Williamson genuinely is a poet, even though one suspects he’d consider that idea a bit wanky.
At the Fonda in Hollywood on a Thursday night in May, the pair wandered onto the stage looking like they were lost. Fearn appeared first, plugged in his laptop, gave a cheering crowd two thumbs up, then left. Ten minutes later, they both ambled on. Fearn pushed a button, and the Mods kicked into “The Unwrap” from this year’s The Demise of Planet X album.
For Fearn, to be fair, the programming is done beforehand. In person, he’s there to get the ball rolling and then to dance like a mad bastard. Which he duly does. He’s not Bez of the Happy Mondays; Fearn’s musical imprint is all over the Mods sound. But live, his main role seems to be to keep the energy up.
All the songs from the new album hit hard. Talking to us about the themes, Williamson said “Obviously MAGA, the Middle East, God, nationalism. This sudden acceptance of traditional male masculinity that all the kingpins of modern communication have embraced because of Donald Trump. Just stuff like that, really, and then the ongoing issues with other bands.”
“The Good Life” and “Shoving the Images” are both great examples, the latter with the opening line “Endless war whether you like it or not.” And through it all, Williamson dances like an odd uncle at a wedding. Or like a drunk guy in the pub who’s dancing alone to his favorite song on the jukebox, oblivious to the stares. We should all be so cocky.
Every now and then, he’ll pause between songs to kinda quietly ask, “How you doin’? You alight?” That was surprising to us—we were expecting him to be as verbally aggressive with the crowd as he is with his lyrics, but not so. In conversation, he was a gent and he turns out to be the same on stage when he’s not singing/rapping/yelling.
The cover of the Pet Shop Boys “West End Girls” is inspired. Retaining the club anthem appeal, in the Mods’ hands it could be taken of an indictment, a commentary on class.
Perhaps predictably, “Tied Up In Nottz” and “Tweet Tweet Tweet” from 2014’s Divide and Exit get the biggest crowd reaction. It’s amazing those tunes are 12 years old, but it does feel like the duo is having the sort of breakthrough moment that they deserve.
Photos by Daniel Rojas / @fog.again
