The Demise Of Planet X

The band’s most musically ambitious and diverse record yet.

Williamson displays a welcome new vulnerability on the harrowing Gina Was, about a childhood incident. Meanwhile, Fearn is subtly developing his production, venturing beyond electro-punk to use classical strings on Double Diamond and a broader range of collaborators.

The Demise Of Planet X feels like the most refined statement Sleaford Mods have made so far. Its production is tighter, its ideas clearer, and its impact sharper – it’s an album that gleams technically while documenting a world that very clearly does not.

There are sweet moments on The Demise Of Planet X - not least guest appearances from Aldous Harding (Elitest G.O.A.T.) and Life Without Buildings' Sue Tompkins (No Touch) - and a more delicate musical palette, but the overwhelming mood is one of weariness; with the state of the world and the tedious, endless gotchas. [Feb 2026, p.85]

The softer edges and new accessibility only makes the fury and dread eerily heavier. [Jan 2026, p.35]

Sleaford Mods are still kicking ass with acerbic beauty. [Feb 2026, p.80]

Enriched and incisive, expansive and introspective, The Demise Of Planet X never settles for second-hand goods. [Feb 2026, p.100]

The Demise of Planet X pops the balloon of overinflated egos. “Double Diamond” starts with epic, building guitars, only to implode with a tinny Casio keyboard take of “Smoke on the Water,” emphasizing the endless regurgitation of irrelevant rock cliches.

Fearn delivers music back to him that touches on a host of genres, including post-punk, warped electropop, bizarre dub, and minimalist new wave, repeating beats and slowly adding instrumentation to keep things from becoming dull. More than in past records, the songs take time to stretch out, as the duo pulls them along and the words.

It sometimes feels as if Sleaford Mods retreat a little too far on The Demise of Planet X – diagnosing collapse with sharp wit but leaving little in direction or galvanising force. In a Britain that could use art to provoke unity as much as amusement, that distance feels not just like an easy route, but a missed opportunity, no matter how enjoyable the chaos remains.

At some point, you may, in fact, find yourself hankering for unaccompanied Mods, and to that end, let me direct you to “Megaton” with its loopy, pinging beat, its hammering bass pulse, its artful disdain.

Rather than escalating, it holds its ground, making it one of Sleaford Mods’ most coherent and controlled releases to date.

The collision of genres fashions a delicate niche, but Planet X’s most striking moments are its most deconstructed.

It sometimes roars to life, while other tracks present a flat wall of noise. Gina Was emerges as the album’s most musically complete moment, showing what they can do when it all comes together.

If not already a fan, what would one get out of ‘The Demise of Planet X’ that doesn’t already feature in their back catalogue, beside a few more timely references? Much like the state of the country they wax lyrical about, Sleaford Mods are stuck in a rut.