Aesthetic: Jason Williamson

In recent years, Jason Williamson of Sleaford Mods has assumed the role of unofficial spokesperson for the fucked off. Williamson and his bandmate Andrew Fearn have channelled the spirits of both this current age and whatever punk was supposed to be with grim success. Fearn provides a mardy backing to the even mardier invective spat by Williamson, a stream-of-consciousness excoriation of class, the government, capitalism, jobsworths and on and on. The stripped-back vocals/backing formula puts them on a spectrum with Suicide and the Pet Shop Boys, though, really, they’re incomparable to either.

Williamson’s fury stretches further than his lyricism; he’s used both the band’s Twitter account and interviews as an opportunity to vent spleen, often by way of throwing shade at other bands. His irritation seems to flair most when faced with any sort of inauthenticity. Indeed, when I talk to him on the phone a couple of days after the shoot, authenticity, or at least honesty – to himself, the band and the public – is a clear concern.

There were two conditions to his participation in this fashion editorial: no Stone Island and no tower blocks. “I’ve never worn Stone Island,” he says. “I didn’t want to represent something that wasn’t necessarily close to me.” He’s polite and thoughtful, speaking from the middle of a shopping centre. “And the tower blocks… I’ve never lived in one, you know. I find certain imagery can just be insulting to people that are living in that environment. There’s nothing wrong with living in a tower block, but it’s something that I haven’t done, you know?”

Image, for Williamson, becomes a question of integrity, and honesty in self-representation supports the over-arching message of the band. “The music was made on the foundations of myself and Andrew, and there was absolutely no glamour with that,” Williamson says. “It was what you see is what you get. So it’s important to keep that going.”

Much of Sleaford Mods’ impact lies in Williamson’s lyrical self-awareness. His is not some outsider criticism; there’s no pretence of rejecting society – rather, his songs’ resonance comes from his position within it. This same self-awareness manifests as a kind of capitalist pragmatism. Brands, he says, might be “full of shit” but at the same time he understands his position relative to them.