UK Grim

UK労働者階級の代弁者スリーフォード・モッズ激昂!!
ジェーンズ・アディクションやドライ・クリーニングも参加した最新アルバム発売決定!

社会に対する不満や怒りをDIYなパンク・サウンドとメッセージ性の強い歌詞と共に表現する労働者階級の代弁者スリーフォード・モッズが全英チャート4位に輝いた前作に続く最新アルバムを〈Rough Trade〉よりリリース!!

英コラージュ・アーティストで風刺作家のコールド・ウォー・スティーヴが手掛けたボリス・ジョンソン前英首相やロシアのプーチン大統領ら政治家からセレブまで様々な著名人が登場するMVも大きな話題を呼んでいるタイトル曲にして先行シングル「UK GRIM」を筆頭に、さらに削ぎ落とされたミニマルな音数の中で超骨太のビートが唸るキャリア史上最もダンサブルな作品となった本作。
「イングランドでは悲鳴をあげても誰にも届かない」という強烈なメッセージとともにザ・クラッシュやザ・ジャムといった先人たちと同様に、庶民の人生、生活、そして現代の厳しい現実を見つめ、切迫感のあるリリックを用いて利己主義を貫き通す支配階級に抗議を訴えている。
また今回のアルバムにはジェーンズ・アディクションのペリー・ファレルとデイヴ・ナヴァロ、そしてドライ・クリーニングのヴォーカル、フローレンス・ショウも参加。

Sleaford Mods experienced some of their greatest success with 2021s Top Five U.K. hit Spare Ribs. Its easy to understand why Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearns cathartic rants resonated so strongly, considering their audience was struggling with a global pandemic on top of Brexit and the ongoing political and cultural turmoil of the 2020s. If lockdowns helped focus the duos ire on Spare Ribs, then UK Grim finds the pair responding to an increasingly complicated post-pandemic world. Fortunately, theyre up to the task. Sleaford Mods are still honed in on their usual targets. The thrumming title track plays like the musical equivalent of Spitting Image, namedrops everyone from Putin to Bruce Banner, and even ties the duos chart success to the increasingly dysfunctional state of the nation. Desperation fuels portraits of austerity ranging from the hollowed-out ballad "Apart from You" to "Tilldipper," a churning sketch that chronicles small acts of rebellion like stealing on the job. However, Fearn and Williamson also expand their horizons on UK Grim. Williamsons fragmented outbursts are particularly sharp, whether he skewers the "post-punk dross" on "D.I.Why" with the highly specific burn "You do playlists for Fred Perry," taps into bleak nostalgia for his childhood on "I, Claudius," describing "loving your country" as a "silent enemy that hangs like nets," or unleashes a torrent of thoughts about vanity and addiction on "Pit 2 Pit," which makes the "straight to your door" convenience of online thrift shopping sound like a threat. These prolific monologues might make it hard for some producers to get a sound in edgewise, but Fearns work is especially ear-catching on UK Grim. Hints of U.K. drill heighten the menace of pandemic-shortened fuses on "Smash Each Other Up"; the bouncy rhythm that drives "Right Wing Beast" stretches out into a queasy monotony; and the combination of a booming, 80s hip-hop beat and chiming guitars on "Rhythms of Class" is equally jarring and hypnotic. The albums collaborations provide two of its brightest highlights: "Force 10 from Navarone," which features Dry Cleanings Florence Shaw, works as well as expected, with her icy non sequiturs ("Its my roadkill hat/Dont touch it") complementing Williamsons heated delivery and pushing the dubstep-like wobble of Fearns production further into shadowy surrealism. "So Trendy," a meeting of the minds with Janes Addictions Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro, is an out-of-nowhere triumph. Its gleaming sci-fi satire finds Williamson harassed by passwords and facial recognition software while Farrell spins a parallel tale of jetpack men and social media influencers who flex for virtual clout over a melody thats catchier than it has any right to be. That "So Trendy" sounds like it was beamed in from a different planet from the rest of UK Grim just offers more proof that Sleaford Mods range keeps growing along with their success. Its a slightly more disjointed experience than Spare Ribs, but Fearn and Williamson are making music for themselves first and fighting back against evil and stupidity the only way they can. ~ Heather Phares