A video for lead single ‘Cato’, a collaboration with Life Without Buildings front woman and acclaimed visual artist Sue Tompkins, is also out now.
The songs are available via streaming services ahead of the band’s European tour this autumn. In addition, Andrew Fearn and Jason Williamson are announcing a series of new shows in the US next spring.
Reaching the UK Top Ten on release at the start of 2026, The Demise Of Planet X saw Sleaford Mods collaborate with the likes of Aldous Harding, Big Special, actress Gwendoline Christie, rapper Snowy, soul singer Liam Bailey and Life Without Building’s Tompkins as they produced one of their most ambitious records to date, undeniably one of the albums of the year.
Adding new depths to Fearn and Williamson’s visceral electronics and incisive words, the band’s 13th studio release explored a new range of sonic horizons and melodic landscapes, while asking what it, rather than going out with a bang, society collapses in a ratioed whimper?
Enthusiastically taken up by fans – it’s songs contributing to the duos biggest live shows to date around the globe this year-and speedily acclaimed by critics, The Demise Of Planet X heralded a new chapter for the band, in part thanks to Sleaford Mods changing up their approach in the studio.
Not only did the pair work in a range of new locations in addition to their Nottingham base, but they adopted a more holistic approach to the recording process, rather than compartmentalising their individual contributions.
Reflecting this experimentation, Fearn and Williamson found themselves covering a broad range of ideas as they arrived at the finished album, and The Demise Of Planet X’s demos offer insight into this process, as several of these tracks helped to illuminate the creative path towards the finished record, while others that came later in the process but did not quite chime with the final records arc are being released from the bands vaults for the first time.
Demise Of Planet X (Demos) Tracklist
The Good Life (Alt Version) – (Feat. Big Special)
Give Em What They Want
Cato – (Feat. Sue Tompkins)
How What
Cheap Cheap Shit
There We Are Then
Armageddon’s Wi Me Now
The Return Of The Bin White Dukes
Dr Who?
“When Andrew and I get together to work on an album, it’s not unheard of for us to produce a decent batch of tracks during each session because we have a creative understanding that allows us to move quickly,” explains Jason Williamson. “That was definitely the case for Planet X, although it took a while, and a few different avenues, to find the idea and aesthetic we wanted to explore across the album. That’s how we ended up with loads of demos that are good and virtually finished, that we didn’t take forward for the record. They give you a good idea of the process behind the album, though they all possess something in their own right too. In a way, everything we do is a demo; there’s that scratchy, raw feel to our music so it’s great to share these extra Sleaford Mods songs rather than leave them gathering dust on the shelf.”
‘Cato’ is released with a video, a further collaboration with Sue Tompkins, who also featured on previous single ‘No Touch’. Made just after the album was largely completed, it did not quite fit with the rest of Planet X but nonetheless demonstrates the creative rapport the pair have built with the Life Without Buildings singer, leading Williamson to declare: “she could join the band.”
“It was so brilliant to be asked to do another song with Jason and Andrew. We recorded it about a month after doing “No Touch” in Bristol, and this time we recorded in Nottingham,” explains Tompkins. “I thought the song was very catchy – and throbby! It’s got a pace and a relentlessness about it, and singing opposite Jason almost feels like a duet. He sings, then I sing. It goes back and forth, all the while with Andrew’s throbby music underneath. The panic of Cato about to spring out!”
The track is accompanied by a video directed by Tompkins.
“When I first heard “Cato”, I had this vivid thought of the character Cato from the Inspector Clouseau films, about to jump out and play fight, or really fight, and wrestle with Peter Sellers,” she says of her inspiration. “I used to love those films when I was younger! Cato lying in wait for Clouseau in his flat, I loved those bits. I think the song has that sense of anticipation and chaos and playfulness and silliness in it somewhere, so I wanted the video to have that too. A relentless, vivid, colourful, threat that keeps coming back around. Help! ‘C-c-c-cato! He’s always waiting for you…’”
Find Sleaford Mods on:
Instagram @sleaford_mods | Facebook @sleafordmodsofficial | TikTok @sleaford_mods
Spotify Sleaford Mods on Spotify | YouTube Sleaford Mods Official Channel
