English Tapas in Bloomington, MN

Sleaford Mods
were ahead of the curve when it came to reintroducing politics to music, and if
English Tapas
is anything to go by, they're also on the cutting edge of post-Brexit weariness. As on
Key Markets
,
Jason Williamson
and
Andrew Fearn
serve up more character-driven songs that express their constant -- and always timely -- frustrations, whether they're skewering machismo on "Army Nights" or 21st century solipsism on songs like the attention-seeking "Snout" or "Just Like We Do," which calls out "pretentious little bastards on social medias." The duo's state of mind on
was foreshadowed not only on
but the
T.C.R
. EP, whose title track used a toy race car set as a nostalgic metaphor for spinning one's wheels.
Fearn
Williamson
capture this feeling of being stuck even more literally on ultra-repetitive tracks such as "Time Sands," where crickets and a hip-hop beat create a loop of despair, and "Cuddly," one of the few songs that mentions Brexit by name. Indeed,
' austerity sounds more grim than bracing on
, a phrase
saw on a pub's menu board for an item consisting of half a scotch egg, chips, a mini pork pie, and a pickle. With food like that, it's better to focus on drinking, and alcohol features prominently on "Messy Anywhere," "Carlton Touts," and "Drayton Manored," where
's enervated harmonies when he sings "have you ever wondered why you wonder why?" underscore the feelings of emptiness that shadow the album. Perversely, the duo puts some of the catchiest songs at the end of
, though the increased hooks do little to lighten
's words and mood. On "Dull," he spits out the title like it tastes bad, while "B.H.S." sets his hopelessness to a more active beat. He and
close the album with the standout "I Feel So Wrong," one of their most melodic -- and desperate-sounding -- songs yet. It's an apt finale to
' numbness and frustration; it might not be as much fun as some of
' earlier albums, but that's the point. ~ Heather Phares