An hour and a half of cathartic vocal lacerations and strobe lighting set to blistering electronica without so much as an interlude. Sleaford Mods live are a force to be reckoned with.
Jason Williamson says he started off writing “self absorbed, self pity” lyrics. It’s hard to imagine given live on stage at The Forum, there wasn’t a second of self-indulgence – barely a moment of respite – as the acclaimed UK duo rifled through a set of simultaneously acerbic and danceable post punk anthems.
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The first thing you notice is they sound even better live than on record.
The backing tracks – and I’ll call them that because Andrew Fearn is less producer, more Bez dancer live on stage – are absolutely phenomenal in the live setting. You can imagine their live performances would have cauterised over the years they spent performing in bare-bones pub formats without any lighting or backdrops whatsoever.
At a packed theatre with a full-throttle light display, they bring so much energy and passion that you wonder why the hell more nightclubs don’t pay attention. Perhaps it’s because the admittedly sold-out audience skewed older. One punter behind me said they remind him of Nine Inch Nails and there is a certain industrial quality to Williamson’s gravel refrains, but their club atmosphere is hardly lacking modern relevance.
More likely, the older audience was a living display of the austerity Sleaford Mods are obsessed with. Who else can afford to go to a concert these days?
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