The track’s opener mixes enough genres for us to give up putting it into a box. Vocalist Jason Willamson sings/yells with all the angst and raspiness of a ’70s punk band. Paired up with Andrew Fearn’s techno beats and jarring electronica, what you have is something equally unpleasant as it is satisfying. Listening through the album is something like having a niggling tooth ache which you can’t stop poking at. It hurts but in an irresitable way.

The second track and single “Kebab Spider” is addictive. “You’re just saying it all to look good” Williamson drones four times in the pre-chorus. Trying to analyse the lyrics is like being singled out by the band and mocked. On one hand, it seems to be making a point about punk and popular culture but the lyrics “Spiders crawl out of your donner’s crown” are repeated three times in the final verse and it starts to seem like Sleaford Mods really did just write a song about a kebab with a spider in.

“Policy Cream” is similar but “O.B.C.T” sounds like a post-punk anthem. The thundering bass and poppy drumbeats give the track a sound that’s closer to The Cure than The Prodigy. If it wasn’t for Willamson’s extraordinarily identifiable vocals, there would be no way of knowing that the track came from the same two people who produced “Kebab Spider” just two tracks earlier.

And then “When You Came To Me” shifts the style all over again. We are not just being yelled at in a dinghy rave anymore, we are being given something that could potentially be described as actual music. By “Flipside” we are being dragged backwards through the rave again and it feels like we’ve just hit our heads really hard.

Reviewing Sleaford Mods is inevitably a challenge as each track on Eton Alive is a surprise and not always a pleasant one. The experience of listening is definitely unique but as far as listening on the bus goes, it’s more likely to induce a panic attack than an enjoyable listening experience.

Still, whatever Marmite wizardry Sleaford Mods have delivered, they have done it exceptionally well, even if we do sort of hate it (but not really).

4/5

The post Sleaford Mods’ “Eton Alive”: Hellishly Moreish and Delightfully Insane appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

Along with the announcement, the duo have shared a brand new music video for single “Kebab Spider.” The song is as dinghy and gritty as ever and they exclaim “You’re just saying it all to look good.”

Check out the punky new track here:

Frontman Jason Willamson also set the tone of the album, explaining: “Eton Alive speaks for itself really. Here we are once again in the middle of another elitist plan being digested slowly as we wait to be turned into faeces once more. Some already are, some are dead and the rest of us erode in the belly of prehistoric ideology which depending on our abilities and willingness, assigns to each of us varying levels of comfort that range from horrible to reasonably acceptable, based on contribution.

He continued: “So after the digestive system of the Nobles rejects our inedible bones we exit the Arse of Rule, we fall into the toilet again and at the mercy of whatever policies are holding order in the s**t pipe of this tatty civilization. It is here our flesh regenerates as we rattle into another form, ready, and ripe for order.”

Eton Alive will be released on February 22.

The post Sleaford Mods Have Announced New Album “Eton Alive” appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

The track’s opener mixes enough genres for us to give up putting it into a box. Vocalist Jason Willamson sings/yells with all the angst and raspiness of a ’70s punk band. Paired up with Andrew Fearn’s techno beats and jarring electronica, what you have is something equally unpleasant as it is satisfying. Listening through the album is something like having a niggling tooth ache which you can’t stop poking at. It hurts but in an irresitable way.

The second track and single “Kebab Spider” is addictive. “You’re just saying it all to look good” Williamson drones four times in the pre-chorus. Trying to analyse the lyrics is like being singled out by the band and mocked. On one hand, it seems to be making a point about punk and popular culture but the lyrics “Spiders crawl out of your donner’s crown” are repeated three times in the final verse and it starts to seem like Sleaford Mods really did just write a song about a kebab with a spider in.

“Policy Cream” is similar but “O.B.C.T” sounds like a post-punk anthem. The thundering bass and poppy drumbeats give the track a sound that’s closer to The Cure than The Prodigy. If it wasn’t for Willamson’s extraordinarily identifiable vocals, there would be no way of knowing that the track came from the same two people who produced “Kebab Spider” just two tracks earlier.

And then “When You Came To Me” shifts the style all over again. We are not just being yelled at in a dinghy rave anymore, we are being given something that could potentially be described as actual music. By “Flipside” we are being dragged backwards through the rave again and it feels like we’ve just hit our heads really hard.

Reviewing Sleaford Mods is inevitably a challenge as each track on Eton Alive is a surprise and not always a pleasant one. The experience of listening is definitely unique but as far as listening on the bus goes, it’s more likely to induce a panic attack than an enjoyable listening experience.

Still, whatever Marmite wizardry Sleaford Mods have delivered, they have done it exceptionally well, even if we do sort of hate it (but not really).

4/5

The post Sleaford Mods’ “Eton Alive”: Hellishly Moreish and Delightfully Insane appeared first on Hot Pop Today.

Along with the announcement, the duo have shared a brand new music video for single “Kebab Spider.” The song is as dinghy and gritty as ever and they exclaim “You’re just saying it all to look good.”

Check out the punky new track here:

Frontman Jason Willamson also set the tone of the album, explaining: “Eton Alive speaks for itself really. Here we are once again in the middle of another elitist plan being digested slowly as we wait to be turned into faeces once more. Some already are, some are dead and the rest of us erode in the belly of prehistoric ideology which depending on our abilities and willingness, assigns to each of us varying levels of comfort that range from horrible to reasonably acceptable, based on contribution.

He continued: “So after the digestive system of the Nobles rejects our inedible bones we exit the Arse of Rule, we fall into the toilet again and at the mercy of whatever policies are holding order in the s**t pipe of this tatty civilization. It is here our flesh regenerates as we rattle into another form, ready, and ripe for order.”

Eton Alive will be released on February 22.

The post Sleaford Mods Have Announced New Album “Eton Alive” appeared first on Hot Pop Today.