{"id":30336,"date":"2017-09-25T13:56:54","date_gmt":"2017-09-25T12:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/?p=30336"},"modified":"2017-09-25T13:56:54","modified_gmt":"2017-09-25T12:56:54","slug":"nice-to-see-yer-sleaford-mods-tie-the-o2-academy-brixton-up-in-nottz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2017\/09\/nice-to-see-yer-sleaford-mods-tie-the-o2-academy-brixton-up-in-nottz\/","title":{"rendered":"NICE TO SEE YER! – Sleaford Mods Tie The O2 Academy Brixton Up In Nottz"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

For some the thought of spending 90 minutes in the company of two middle-aged blokes, armed only with a laptop and a microphone, would be about as appetising as an office team-bonding session on a wet weekend in Nantwich.<\/h4>\n

But Sleaford Mods are no ordinary middle-aged blokes.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Ten years into a prolific career, the duo –\u00a0Jason Williamson<\/strong> and beat-maker Andrew Fearn <\/strong>– are something of a phenomenon, providing an alternative expletive-ridden commentary on modern Britain’s failings and frustrations.<\/p>\n

After a brief Brucie-style welcome of “Nice to see yer,” \u00a0they launch into the darkly humorous\u00a0Army Nights<\/strong><\/em>, from latest long player English Tapas<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

It takes them a while to get properly into their stride, Williamson twice rightly chastising the guys on the missing desk for an over preponderance of bass.<\/p>\n

But once the sound is sorted, it soon becomes clear just what all the fuss is about.<\/p>\n

Fearn’s stripped back beats mirror the fitful, restless urgency of the lyrics, while Williamson is never less than mesmerising.<\/p>\n

His body in constant motion, the vocalist is a hive of nervous tension and pent-up rage, an array of tics and mannerisms, commanding your attention.<\/p>\n

Hunched over the mic John Lydon<\/strong>-style, he often seems to be swatting \u00a0at an imaginary wasp buzzing around his ear.<\/p>\n

As each song starts, he becomes consumed by his own characters, delivering his lines with total conviction.<\/p>\n

He doesn’t sugar coat or pander to any particular generation – the ‘pretentious little bastard on social medias’ rubbing shoulders with Ena Sharples and vampiric snooker champ Ray Reardon in his scattergun wordplay.<\/p>\n

The anger is real and ferocious, but Williamson is too sharp a lyricist to simply bludgeon an audience into submission.<\/p>\n

Acid humour punctuates the stream of invective, making you stop and think all the more about what he’s saying.<\/p>\n

He’s funny off the cuff too, taking the venue to task for not having a long enough microphone lead:\u00a0“That’s just not good enough for the best focking band in England,” he retorts, tongue at least partly in cheek.<\/p>\n

Songs rattle past at a furious rate,\u00a0Jolly Fucker<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0TCR<\/em><\/strong>,\u00a0Job Seeker\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>and a magnificent\u00a0Tarantula Deadly Cargo<\/strong><\/em> among them.<\/p>\n

Warming to his task, Williamson senses a real connection with the crowd, pointing out that this is probably the band’s best ever London show.<\/p>\n

And while not exactly a honey-voiced crooner, he proves he can definitely hold a tune.<\/p>\n

There are shades of the wit and wisdom of\u00a0Ian\u00a0<\/strong>Dury<\/b> and\u00a0John Cooper Clarke\u00a0<\/strong>about Williamson, but essentially he’s is a one-off, a true original.<\/p>\n

“Punk’s not dead,” he remarks with a sneer on\u00a0Just Like We Do<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

With Sleaford Mods around it might just be shocked into a revival.<\/p>\n

The best focking band in England?<\/p>\n

I wouldn’t bet against them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For some the thought of spending 90 minutes in the company of two middle-aged blokes, armed only with a laptop and a microphone, would…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":30348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[264,7],"tags":[11448,11446,9200,11447,8463,11449,3877,7845,764,4207],"class_list":["post-30336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-concerts","category-music","tag-andrew-fearn","tag-english-tapas","tag-ian-dury","tag-jason-williamson","tag-john-cooper-clarke","tag-john-lydon","tag-live-review","tag-o2-academy-brixton","tag-punk","tag-sleaford-mods"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5yMhl-7Ti","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17391,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2016\/01\/the-essential-weekly-playlist-of-the-diamond-age\/","url_meta":{"origin":30336,"position":0},"title":"The Essential Weekly Playlist of: The Diamond Age","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"22\/01\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"We last featured The Diamond Age in our Essential Advent Calendar, with their song 'Holly'. They're currently working on new material, but in the meantime, here's their Essential Weekly Playlist.","rel":"","context":"In "Music"","block_context":{"text":"Music","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The-Diamond-Age2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The-Diamond-Age2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The-Diamond-Age2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/The-Diamond-Age2.jpg?fit=960%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71903,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/10\/picture-this-rocked-o2-academy-brixton-14-october\/","url_meta":{"origin":30336,"position":1},"title":"Picture This Rocked O2 Academy Brixton 14 October – Photographed By Ruby Gaunt","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"18\/10\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Our resident photographer Ruby Gaunt was at O2 Academy Brixton on 14 October, where she captured Irish band Picture This...in pictures.","rel":"","context":"In "Concerts"","block_context":{"text":"Concerts","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/concerts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Picture This O2 Academy Brixton, 14 October - photo credit Ruby Gaunt","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E83CC8DB-BE13-466D-A012-3DA9F6439BDB-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E83CC8DB-BE13-466D-A012-3DA9F6439BDB-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E83CC8DB-BE13-466D-A012-3DA9F6439BDB-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E83CC8DB-BE13-466D-A012-3DA9F6439BDB-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E83CC8DB-BE13-466D-A012-3DA9F6439BDB-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":71923,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2021\/10\/review-of-picture-this-life-in-colour-tour-at-the-o2-academy-brixton-on-thursday-14th-october\/","url_meta":{"origin":30336,"position":2},"title":"Review Of Picture This \u2018Life In Colour\u2019 Tour At The O2 Academy, Brixton On Thursday 14th October","author":"Essentially Pop","date":"20\/10\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Irish band Picture This, performing at the O2 Academy in Brixton for their \u2018Life in Colour\u2019 tour, put on a high energy and extremely entertaining show with a mix of new album tracks and older favourites.","rel":"","context":"In "Concerts"","block_context":{"text":"Concerts","link":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/category\/music\/concerts\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E3935533-50DC-45EF-8730-347B0F8F15C1-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E3935533-50DC-45EF-8730-347B0F8F15C1-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E3935533-50DC-45EF-8730-347B0F8F15C1-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E3935533-50DC-45EF-8730-347B0F8F15C1-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/E3935533-50DC-45EF-8730-347B0F8F15C1-scaled.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":23838,"url":"https:\/\/essentiallypop.com\/epop\/2016\/10\/guns-of-brixton-savages-to-play-londons-o2-academy\/","url_meta":{"origin":30336,"position":3},"title":"GUNS OF BRIXTON – Savages To Play London’s O2 Academy","author":"Matt Catchpole","date":"24\/10\/2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Savages are to follow up their rampaging summer festival performances with their biggest London headline show to date at London's O2 Academy. 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