'English Tapas' Album Review

'English Tapas' Album Review

Despite rocketing sales, finding people who tolerate Sleaford Mods let alone admit to liking them has proved difficult since their debut album in 2007. However, the stench of Sleaford Mods has hung around long enough and Nottingham’s foul-mouthed, coke-sniffing duo have just released their tenth studio album, ‘English Tapas’.  After signing to one of the biggest independent labels, Rough Trade, home to The Strokes and Jarvis Cocker, ‘English Tapas’ could be another success story under Rough Trade’s belt.

English Tapas contains electronic-punk rhythms with vocalist, Jason Williams spitting the venomous lyrics about drugs and the government, all with slightly less cussing involved than previous albums. The inevitable Brexit mention takes a few tracks to make an appearance. But with the whole world now a politics expert, it seems Williams is the man to put it in its most simplistic form, “Like scared kids, because that’s all you are, rubbing up to the crown and the flag and the notion of who we are – fuck off”. Brexit then lingers like a bad (but relevant) smell throughout the remainder of the album.

However, under the vulgarity of their initial makeup, these men are talking sense in the format of swear-riddled poetry. If you can dig beneath the “fucks”, “shits” and “cunts”, there are some intelligent men underneath with voices to be heard.