May 19 2024 marks 10 years of Sleaford Mods seminal album, Divide And Exit.
Allying strong words and minimal electronics, Sleaford Mods’ second ‘proper’ album (or sixth if you go back through the early CD-R efforts) the self-released Divide And Exit was not only Andrew Fearn and Jason Williamson’s most effective artistic expression to that point, it also truly captured the taste of a land souring by the day.
Now set for a reissue through Rough Trade Records to mark the record’s tenth anniversary, the fully remastered album – complete with a limited-edition LP sleeve designed by Cold War Steve – offers a chance to fully appreciate a band beginning to hit their artistic stride while acknowledging and commiserating that many of the dark forces that inspired its creation linger on. Yet once again it is possible to revel in the hopeful anger that underpins Sleaford Mods’ blasts of outrage and electro.
As well as been fully remastered, Williamson has written new sleevenotes to accompany the album while The Wire’s interview with the band from the time, conducted by the incomparable Mark Fisher, is being reprinted in full.
Additionally, Cold War Steve has placed the iconic photo of the duo from the album’s original sleeve into a new nightmare-ish collage, underlining the Hogarthian qualities of the music contained within. This new artwork will be limited to the initial pressing of the reissued LP.
“Listening to it now, Divide & Exit is perhaps the most punk record we have done,” says Williamson, reflecting on how Sleaford Mods felt out ahead, covering fresh ground alone at the time, before going on to inspire a raft of post-punk-infused artists to follow their lead in the album’s aftermath. “Each song falls out of the last like an extension or whatever. There wasn’t anyone in the country doing what we were doing at that point, it feels like it was 30 years ago, but it’s only been 10. Mad as fuck.”
![Sleaford Mods Tied Up In Nottz (official video) [2014]](media/video-thumbnail/74500-maxresdefault.jpg)
