Unlike most of their chart peers, Sleaford Mods’ route to success has been a slow one, the Nottingham duo gathering momentum since their 2007 debut album, as their unvarnished anger at austerity Britain started to ring true with ever more people. As a result, their sprawling back catalogue encompasses long-out-of-print singles, appearances on little-known compilations and super-rare albums. All That Glue is an attempt to tidy up some of those loose ends.
As a concept it’s slightly confused, falling somewhere between an exploration of their hinterland and a best of: while it includes nine previously unreleased songs, the two tracks from last year’s Top 10 album Eton Alive are hardly unknown outside crate-digging circles. It’s far more satisfying musically, however, working as a good showcase for Jason Williamson’s stream-of-consciousness rants and Andrew Fearn’s unshowy but effective beats, from the frantic spleen-venting of 2014’s Jolly Fucker to the menace of last year’s OBCT.
Of the unreleased material, the relentless Big Dream and the scattershot fury of Blog Maggot (“Robin Thicke? Thick as fuck!”) stand out, although the harsh minimalism of Rich List is just as potent, as effective a skewering of the media’s obsession with the trappings of success as you’re likely to hear.
