Sleaford Mods will break your heart. Nasty, poignant, disconnected, focused, cynical, adorable, poetic, tragic. They brought all these elements and then some to an eager sold-out crowd at The Atlantis on May 10 (Mother’s Day here in the USA) to promote their stunning recent Rough Trade release, The Demise of Planet X. $1 dollar from each ticket goes to War Child UK — a specialist charity for children affected by conflict and war.
Formed in 2007 in Nottingham, UK, Sleaford Mods consists of frontman Jason Williamson and instrumentalist Andrew Fearn (since 2012). Williamson’s singing style has been described as a mix between Sprechgesang, or spoken-singing style, with “rant-rapping,” Williamson citing hip-hop as a major inspiration for his unique vocal style.
Williamson describes “The Demise of Planet X” — Planet X referring to a doomsday conspiracy scenario where the Earth ends from a planetary collision — as exactly that, a conspiracy…he tells The Standard, “it’s like it’s already happened. We’ve already been laid to waste. Now what have we got? Much is the same. Artisan Scotch eggs are still being baked, Pret’s still open, but everyone’s on tenterhooks.” This idea is the premise for the album, and us exploring all its parts in performance was both a harrowing and cathartic experience; the brutal and necessary dystopian reflections resonated throughout the room, and for 90 minutes or so we were all there to bear witness on this cool and wet Sunday evening.
As they slowly sauntered onto the stage, Sleaford Mods seemed cool and collected, here tonight in the nation’s capital. Fearn quickly tested the sound emanating from his laptop, then all systems go. They began with “The Unwrap,” a commentary on the dreaded banality of resorting to online shopping and other retail therapy outlets:
Even when you beat them streets
Even when you get somewhere
‘Cause no fucker likes ya and no one cares
Yeah, I just buy stuff now
Talk about buying stuff when I’m out
Think about the unwrap when it’s sat on my couch
Next up were two highlighted songs from The Demise of Planet X: “The Good Life” features Game of Thrones heroine Gwendoline Christie and West Midlands, UK outfit Big Special, and grappled with Williamson’s disdain for both the music industry and its insincere platitudes — but also himself for criticizing other artists thus sabotaging any self-love or appreciation for his achievements in that realm. On the studio recording, Christie and Big Special serve as Williamson’s inner voices of intense self-doubt battling his outer, delicate insecurities as an artist:
Like everybody else alive, I think there’s only this pain in me
Smashed against the rocks, the boats that hit Skull Island
Tori Kong and flames that spit to entice his rage in silence
I’m the maggot man with a severed hand
I’m Evel Knievel, stunt cyclist in a nowhere fuckin’ land
Watch the official music video for “The Good Life (Dark Version)” by Sleaford Mods featuring Gwendoline Christie and Big Special on YouTube:
Williamson, dressed in all casual black attire, screamed and shuffled back and forth, swaying the microphone like a massive pendulum. Fearn emitted the contrasting relaxed chill vibe, dressed in light tones and dancing comfortably loose, like the supportive bro you need whenever. “Megaton” explores how social media algorithms numb us all from both pleasure (vanity) and pain (war and suffering):
Yeah, weights and wanking
Hard bodies and phone lights
That’s all we got
I got my stomach flat for the money shot
In shiny cars, Elvis jaws and no bras
On the road to nowhere
Nobody knows where to post anymore
Social media weight watchers
Collabing with the same old fucking singers, spray and pray
Like lazy dog owners on short walks mate, wankers
Fucking toss parachutes from jizz op aircraft carriers
Megaton
No war, no death
Toward the middle of the set, Williamson loosened up a bit and spoke more in between songs, charmingly shy but ultimately firm in his delivery. He made sure to periodically thank the crowd for attending and praised his collaborators. “Flood the Zone,” featuring fellow Nottingham native Liam Bailey, and “No Touch” featuring Sue Tompkins (vocalist for the Scottish indie band Life Without Buildings), were also peaks of the night.
“Gina Was” was a delicate, reflective piece about facing childhood trauma. When Williamson was a boy, Gina was the leader of a group of schoolgirls who pulled his pants down. He was then dubbed The Maggot Man, which he has since referenced often in his work. In contrast, “Elitist GOAT,” featuring the dreamy vocals of New Zealand folk-singer Aldous Harding, had a lighter indie pop dance vibe, a crowd fave, and everyone sang along with Williamson as he commented on the narcissistic and moral comforts of existing purely in the cloistered nature of social media plus the cultural dangers of venturing outside that box:
I’ve gotta be seen, I’ve gotta move it
Put myself as the central thing
Squeezing the life out of thinking outside
Live in a box, ah, fucking please
I may not be here for shit
Ev?ryday, innit, I don’t know anyone that is
So when you bring in the Daleks
Remember they don’t do escalators
And now my life is much better
Since I behaved in a way that never
And now my life is much better
Since I behaved in a way that never
Raises suspicion
It’s all about me
The elitist G-O-A-T
It’s all about me
The elitist G-O-A-T
Toward the end of the show, Williamson was attuned to the crowd as the music begins for “Bad Santa”: “If you want a pint, now’s yer time…” a kind gesture which humbly contradicted the meaning of this slow-grooved tune that focuses on the pitfalls of heinous alpha male culture:
Gangstas floggin’ cars, electric bastards, dapper laughs
I’ve been tryna work on my hate, mate
Nothin’ modern about A Tate, mate
Dapper laughs, big gaffs, locked torment
Badgers kiss, kiss this
Bad Santa, gangsta
Caravan king, Don King
Emperor Ming-in’
Mingin’, mingin’ you c**t
Bad Santa, yeah
Bad Santa, yeah
Williamson hopped and bopped as he narrated “The Demise of Planet X,” Fearn in the background grooving in his comfy white Adidas ankle socks and soft trainers. Williamson’s vocals on ” Double Diamond” were reminiscent of British actor Phil Daniels on Blur’s “Parklife,” and Fearn’s warm beats reminded me of Beck’s “Where It’s At” — both references from the 1990s. The song took a look at a specific brand of crack cocaine, and the sad, often tragic daily dramas that surround drug addiction.
Sleaford Mods performed a variety of older hits like “Mork n Mindy,” “UK Grim,” “Force 10 From Navarone,” and “Jobseeker.” Their boisterous cover of Pet Shop Boy’s “West End Girls” was lovely, apparently chosen because it was a “coming-of-age track” for Williamson, and it was released in late 2023 to benefit the UK charity Shelter, which focuses on the UK’s general housing issues plus the unhoused. Everyone in the venue was up on their feet, some hands in the air, almost like they just didn’t care, swaying to the beat of the ’80s iconic tune.
All in all, seeing Sleaford Mods is an unforgettable experience. The effort is undeniable, the songs are strong, melodic, and infectiously groovy at times, and they traipse unapologetically around the gamut of human frailty, ultimately honing in on the grotesque reality of self-posturing survival and the current anesthetized state of global affairs.
Here are some photos of Sleaford Mods performing live at The Atlantis on May 10, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Nalinee Darmrong.
