W/e 23/01/26 - Sassy 009, Shaking Hand, Sleaford Mods, Langhorne Slim, Neil Young

Congrats to Langhorne Slim for being our winner this week and having the TOTW.

J-Hus is having a party tonight as Sleaford Mods broke a few scoring records, including half-a-dozen ‘1s’ and land in very last place overall, by almost half a point.

No act has dropped so much between 2 albums reviews. Justin was the only person whose score went up from 2021, Sam dropped the most, Guy the only one to dish out a brace of 1s!

Justin swooped in off the slopes to snatch the😄 from Jim at the last minute.

Matt has his first ☹️ for 6 months.

Neil Young lands next to XTC and Television on the classics.

Andy

Sassy 009 - All a bit poor man’s Charli XCX for me, albeit with a few head noddable moments 5.5

Shaking Hand - Pretty unmemorable basic indie 5

Sleaford Mods - To put it in words that Jason Williamson would understand, a load of old fooking wank. I always think there might be something of value in the lyrics but try as I might I can’t find it within the unfunny Frank Sidebottom pastiche 1

Langhorne Slim - This was a cracking bit of Americana, damn good stuff and you can really feel the Greta Van Fleet influence 7

TotW - Rock N Roll by Langhorne Slim

Neil Young - I don’t like Neil Young’s voice which has put something of a dampener on ever looking into his oeuvre. As a result it’s quite nice to have a listen to this, as an insight into the early 70s Laurel Canyon sound that I quite like. His voice hasn’t got too annoying at this point and the tunes are good, a welcome listen 7

Sam

Sassy009 mostly a load of vocoder nonsense, but the dark moody bits lift it to a 5

Shaking Hand : rubbish name but good guitars and an interesting atmosphere make it a 7

Sleaford Mods : this isn’t music . 1

Longhorne Slim : what a belter ! Thanks god for this . 8

TOTW : Loyalty by Langhorne Slim

Neil Young : I don’t like his voice either , but it hasn’t grown in to the annoying stage yet . This is ok , some parts were good . So a 6 , sorry Phil !

Guy

Sassy 009 – I think this was meant to be dreamy electro-pop but it was closer to dreary electro-pop for the most part. Terrible vocoder use too. – 5.5

Shaking Hand – Interesting and slightly different indie. Musically strong with lots of layered sounds. Reminded me in places of Everything Everything when they speed up (e.g. In for a…Pound!). Thought this was an accomplished debut from the Mancs - 7.4

Sleaford Mods - As expected a complete travesty of an album. Zero musical value and lyrically inept. They sound like Millie Tant with Tourette’s. – 1

Langhorne Slim - A fairly decent slice of Americana. Some hints of Kings of Leon in places I thought – 7

Neil Young – Not an expert on his body of work. This was OK. I preferred the 60s / 70s bluesy noodling guitar tracks to the C&W numbers - 6

TOTW – Engine 99 – Langhorne Slim

Jim

Sassy009 6.5

Some decent poptronica, enough energy to rise it above the likes of uber minimal Oklou, topped off with a couple of bangers in Someone and My Candle

Shaking Hand 6

Solid debut, a little wispy but also different to much new indie that it felt fresh

Sleaford Mods 6

I like the tunes, he’s attempting some interesting and witty social commentary, but it was hard to pick much of it out amongst the rage which seems to have ramped up from the 2021 offering

Langhorne Slim 7

Enjoyed plenty of this, more than I expected, especially the more bluesy rock numbers. Good work

TOTW: Sassy’s Someone

Neil Young 8

Thought much of this was excellent, especially when he let rip on the 10min numbers, Down by the Rover and Cowgirl in the Sand that had a hypnotic base and were super slick

Phil OG

Sassy 009 5

Occasionally interesting arrangements but mostly sounds like it was recorded in a wind tunnel with a vocoder.

Shaking Hand 7.5

Loved the guitar sound. First spin this did sound a little samey but further plays revealed more depth than I’d first noticed. A band to watch, methinks.

Sleaford Mods 1

If you took the words “fuck” and “cunt” out of this record it would be less than half the length. Even more sweary that the average rap album, which is saying something. This reminds me of Derek and Clive Live, which is one of the most unpleasant things I’ve ever heard in my life. Congratulations fellers on lowering the standard of popular music.

Langhorne Slim 7.5

This reminds me of Nathaniel Rateliff but the songs are better. Another album that sounded better the more I played it.

TOTW – Langhorne Slim – Haunted man

Classic

Neil Young 10

I’m not surprised to read both Andy and Sam talk about Neil’s voice unfavourably. It is a bit whiney. But on albums like this you hardly notice it – well, I don’t! I’m not a great fan of his acoustic albums but when he plays with Crazy Horse I hear rock music at its absolute best. I love the fact that they don’t sound polished, that the groove is as important as the words. It’s not what a record sounds like, it’s what it feels like that matters to Neil. I salute him.

Phil (New)

Sassy 009 5.5

I found this a fairly dull, uninspirational listen. Some of the 90s electronic sounds were my cup of tea, that was about it.

Shaking Hand 6.5

Distinctive guitar sound, good record for one listen but all merged into one.

Sleaford mods 2.1

Some of the guest vocalists input was good particularly on No Touch, otherwise what a load of tripe.

Langhorne Slim 7

The light in the dark! A really decent record in amongst a fair amount of dirge this week.

TOW - Langhorne Slim - Strange Companion

Neil Young 6.9

I wasn't expecting to like this, but really enjoyed the rambling lengthy tracks amd rawness of the timing, sometimes feeling completely out of whack, but working somehow

Annette

Sassy 009: 6.5

Shaking Hands: 6

Sleaford Mods: 3

Langhorne Slim: 7

TOTW: Rock N Roll by Langthorne Slim

Classic: Neil Young - 6.5

Paul

Sassy 009 (6)

Didn’t mind the tunes too much but couldn’t get on with the dreary synthesised vocals. Did finish with a couple of stronger tunes which bumped the score up a bit.

Shaking Hand (6.5)

Quite like the 7 tracks in 40 mins format but overall all just a bit slow paced for me. Inoffensive but forgettable.

Sleaford Mods (3.5)

When it’s good it’s not bad, when it’s bad it’s pretty terrible! The tracks with the guest vocals are ok.

Longhorn Slim (7.5)

Not a genre I’d normally go for, but enjoyed it. My favourite of the week.

Neil Young (8)

Not really listened to him at any length but this was really good. Cinnamon Girl & Cowgirl in the sand were highlights.

TOTW - Longhorn Slim - loyalty

Carlo

Sassy 009 – 7.1

This kept me happy while working. I know most of you aren’t fans of these manipulated vocals, but I like them.

Shaking Hand – 6.5

Chugged along peacefully in the background. If anything, a little flat and nothing really stood out.

Sleaford Mods – 2.6

In terms of bad, it’s pretty up there. Didn’t find this quite as bad as some of you made out – although still pretty dreadful. Not quite a 1 for me; I think there was some musical rhythm in there somewhere… or was that a drum machine?! Second listen was impossible. Right, who wants a fight!!

Langhorne Slim – 6.8

Are they classed as folk/rock? Sounded mostly folky, with the odd surprising change of genre into rock(ish). Enjoyable, though.

Classic Neil Young – 6

I was really looking forward to this, but it ended up being slow and boring, with a dreary voice. I was expecting better. I’ve seen him live and don’t remember him being that mundane.

TOTW: Sassy 009 – Butterflies

(I may have chosen this because of the sports bike sample!)

Simon

Sassy 009: wasn't a fan of the autotuned vocals, and lord knows what she was singing about half the time, but underneath there was some decent dark and moody electronica - without the vocals, Sleepwalker's Pendulum could easily have passed for Boards of Canada. 6.5

Shaking Hand: thought this was pretty good for a debut - liked how they gave the songs room to breathe and develop, although think a few would have benefited from a more noticeable change in tempo. 7

Sleaford Mods: risible, potty-mouthed nonsense. 1

Langhorne Slim: not really my thing but after listening to SM it was like a breath of fresh air - a bit too C&W at times for my liking but Strange Companion is a stomper. 6.8

Neil Young: one of those classic artists whose music I don't know well at all - Cinnamon Girl is a great opening track and enjoyed the rest as something a bit different to my usual listening. 6.5

TotW: Shaking Hands - Up the Ante(lope)

Erol

Sassy 009 - the first half is way too auto-tuned but the album gets more interesting down the line with some decent pop-electronica. 6.8

Shaking Hand - I thoroughly enjoyed the acoustic guitars and minimalist vocals. Edgy at times too, which enhanced the overall impression. I could hear bits of Kid-A in there somewhere. 7

Sleaford Mods - please, never again. 1

Langorne Slim - I like a bit of bluesy country rock and this didn’t disappoint, especially when they ramped it up. Strange Companion was the stand out track. 7.5

TOTW - Someone by Sassy

Neil Young - I too am not a huge fan of his voice but the musical craftsmanship here is a joy to listen to. Down by the River is a wonderfully immersive folk rock track for the full 9+ minutes. Cow Girl’s great too. Why don’t they make music like this any more? 8.5

Matt

Sassy 009 - Not sassy enough. 4

Shaking Hand - Reasonable waftiness. 5

Sleaford Mods - One trick. Pony. 1

Langhorn Slim - Lovely slice of rolling Americana. 7

TOTW - Langhorn Slim - Loyalty

Adam

Sassy 009

Reminded me of a certain brat summer - maybe there’s a new xcx genre of music - auto-tuned vocals, drum machine and electronic beats I could generate on my MacBook - all to the max. 5

Shaking Hand

Some tuneful laid back indie. Like a more chilled out Cloud Nothings. 7

Sleaford Mods

Wasn’t looking forward to this given early reviews from the group. Some spoken word music can work, this does not. 2

Langhorne Slim

Nice bit of upbeat energy, enthusiasm and actual stringing together of melodies. A touch of the Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zero’s about him in places. Quite good. 7

TOTW: Dance on Thru - Langhorne Slim

Classic

Was listening to quite a bit of Neil Young back in December - mostly Harvest and Rust Never Sleeps. Hadn’t gotten to this album yet. Not quite a warm as Harvest, not quite as punk-ish as Rust - this is a bit more rough and meandering, nothing overly polished which is a good thing. 7

Mark

Sassy 009 - pretty unremarkable really, while the music's not entirely terrible it's yet another act with vocals so synthesised that they end up devoid of all personality. I expect her to headline Reading next year - 4.5

Shaking Hand - thought this was just a bit tuneless and boring post punk first time around, but some of its subtlety did grow on me on second listen - 6

Sleaford Mods - well, what to say about this. I guess it's good that the exist to rant about things, and now and then I did find myself chuckle at the odd lyric, but mostly this is a 'challenging listen' - 4

Langhorne Slim - nice bit of rock n' soul to finish off with, my cup of tea for the most part and comfortably the pick of the bunch this week - 7

TOTW - Rock N Roll by Langhorne Slim

Justin

Sassy 009 - I enjoyed this. Dark scandi electro. Vocoder voice didn't bother me. 7

Shaking hand - okay indie 6.8

Sleaford Mods - maybe because I like electronic beats and I can at times be a bit angry about the state of things I actually enjoyed the album. I don't think the world is as unremittingingly grim as the Mods seem to think it is but the album is still quite an amusing listen. 6.7

Langhome slim - went a bit over my head this album. Okay in a wispy way. 6.5

Totw Sassy 009 - Someone

Neil Young - I like Neil Young albeit I know songs more than actual albums. I thought this was real quality. I also actually like his voice and think it works well with the tunes. 7.5