Sleaford Mods share new single ‘So Trendy’ featuring Jane’s Addiction’s Perry Farrell

The song explores people's obsession with their phones

Sleaford Mods have released a new single, ‘So Trendy’, which features guest vocals by Jane’s Addiction‘s Perry Farrell.

‘So Trendy’ is the latest cut from the duo’s new album, ‘UK Grim‘, released this Friday (March 10).

The track is described in press material as “an insistent electro mirror on a world obsessed by looking into their phones and manipulating the visual echoes coming back”.

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Sleaford Mods’ vocalist Jason Williamson explained of the link-up with Farrell. “Perry got in touch and said he wanted to work with us. He’s a really cool guy and his back catalogue clearly speaks for itself, so we jumped at it, and ‘So Trendy’ grew from there.”

Accompanying the single is a music video created by director John Minton (Portishead, The Pretenders), who used Generative AI to place the band (completed by Andrew Fearn) and Farrell in a retro video game-like world that reflects the song’s themes.

“’So Trendy’ concerns itself with the ongoing polarisation of living life through smart devices,” Williamson added of the single’s lyrics. “The daily experience is a series of passwords or facial recognitions that lead us into familiar Arenas of consumer marketing and conformity.”

Meanwhile, ‘UK Grim’, the band’s seventh album proper as a duo (although 12th if counting earlier rarities), will sees its release backed by a second SMTV special. Broadcast via the band’s YouTube channel on from 9pm GMT this Saturday (March 11), the new show will feature a series of exclusive performances, interviews, videos, and much more.

Sleaford Mods spoke to NME recently about their new album and how they might expect it to perform following the commercial (UK Top Five) and critical success of its predecessor, 2021’s ‘Spare Ribs‘.

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“We knew the album was really good, but at six albums in you don’t expect that kind of reception,” Williamson said of ‘Spare Ribs’.

“Will this one hit the zeitgeist again? I don’t think so; it’s just us doing our thing on our own again. It hasn’t been carried by anything apart from perhaps the ultra-demise of any kind of reason in government politics. Perhaps in that sense, ‘UK Grim’ might strike a chord with people at their wit’s end, with people having to suffer these fucking idiots,” he added.

Sleaford Mods
Sleaford Mods CREDIT: Courtesy of Rough Trade

Speaking of how the political landscape in the UK has only worsened as they’ve reflected the scene across their previous six albums, Williamson said: “We’re definitely not getting any justice, things aren’t going to change, the system isn’t going to change; you’re still going to have your bedroom anarchists railing against a world that is far bigger than them.”

Elsewhere in the chat with NME, Williamson reflected on working with Farrell. “Myself and Andrew are not extensive Jane’s Addiction or Porno For Pyro fans, but we recognise he’s always been a very cool person. He added a brightness to the song, even though it’s not bright. It just feels like it has opened up the idea of what we do a bit more.”

Last week, Sleaford Mods announced a UK and Ireland tour in support of their new record – find out more here.

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