Rob’s Album Of The Week: Sleaford Mods’ Spare Ribs

I’ve gone over this many times in my journalistic career, but growth and evolution is extremely vital to music. It’s what separates it from being a hobby to being a science. Depth is necessary and nobody wants to hear the same old tune, they want something fresh. Nottingham minimalist electro punks Sleaford Mods have been keeping it fresh for over a decade and their eleventh album, Spare Ribs, that came out on January 15 via Rough Trade Records could be their best yet. The production quality is fantastic with collaboration being a big element in a couple songs.

Vocalist James Williamson and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Fearn give their unique sound more of a body in their new album. Perhaps it could be the bass having more of a presence or simply an improvement in software, but there’s a lot of substance. Williamson also exhibits a vocal range, which has been an increasing trend within the act’s past few releases. The instrumentation has a lot more going on as well. It doesn’t rely on a loop while giving off a forward thinking vibe in an artistic way.

As I write this, the United States is inaugurating a new President. Regardless of your views and party affiliation, it has to be said that we have a long way to go when it comes to being the country we all really want to live in. I’ll always be puzzled that a place priding itself on…