Sleaford Mods have released two previously unheard tracks, ‘Git Some Balls’ and ‘Air Con’.
The tracks, one a reworking of previous song, ‘Air Conditioning’, come ahead of the 10th anniversary reissue of ‘Divide & Exit’, which is out on Friday 26 July.
‘Git Some Balls’ was written and recorded by the duo during the sessions for the album, complete with Jason Williamson’s impression of The Ghostbusters’ siren. He described the track as “one of those studio floor clippings that we didn’t feel quite hit the mark at the time, but today sounds great”.
It is now available for the first time on streaming services, and will also feature on a one-off flexi-disc with limited edition copies of the reissue of their 2014 record.
“We knew what we wanted for the album, and we didn’t feel this was quite right for ‘Divide and Exit’,” said Williamson. “What’s weird is that the rejects always sound wicked when you revisit them, as good as the stuff that got through to form the album which says a lot about the way we work and where our heads were at the time.
“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.”
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He went on to compare it to their previous effort, ‘Austerity Dogs’, which “barked a directionless yet solid form of anger”, while he considers ‘Divide and Exit’ to have “carried this basic form of class consciousness”.
He continued: “After the release of ‘Austerity Dogs’ we realised we had seemingly created a formula. “Andrew [Fearn] just took the formula and ran with it and his music started to sound much more compact and urgent. Listening to it now, ‘Divide and Exit’ is perhaps the most punk record we have done.”
Along with the ‘Git Some Balls’ flexi, limited edition versions will also feature new sleeve notes written by Williamson, and The Wire’s 2014 interview with the band (conducted by the late Mark Fisher) will also be reprinted in full.
As well as the upcoming album reissue, a CD version of the album (which features artwork from Cold War Steve) will be available exclusively from Sleaford Mods and Rough Trade Records online shops.
Similarly, the new cover will feature on a one-off t-shirt; available from the band’s web store and all proceeds being donated to War Child UK. Visit here for more information and to pre-order the album.
The release follows their set at Glastonbury 2024, in which they appeared less than impressed with their audience.