Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson on Planet X, cultural decay, and the evolution of the band (#264)
Release Date: 12/06/2025
Paul Draper on Mansun Retold: revisiting old songs with new perspective (#267)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Paul Draper to talk about Mansun Retold — a project shaped by distance, perspective, and the strange experience of meeting your younger self through song. Watch the full video conversation. Releasing on 20 February, Mansun Retold sees Draper revisit and reimagine key songs from the Mansun catalogue, rebuilding them from the ground up as full-band, acoustic unplugged recordings. Rather than revisiting the past for nostalgia’s sake, the album is about clarity — hearing familiar songs anew, stripped of urgency, ego, and...
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Alexander Wolfe on 'Everythinglessness' and confronting masculinity through music (#266)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Alexander Wolfe to talk about his deeply personal new album Everythinglessness. Watch the full video conversation. Written after a period of intense personal reckoning — including time spent in a mental health rehabilitation facility in 2023 — explores masculinity, mental health, and emotional survival. Drawing on experiences of depression, anxiety, and ADHD, Wolfe turns vulnerability into something raw, intimate, and quietly powerful. Raised in 1990s Woolwich, Wolfe blends observational grit with cinematic songwriting,...
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Callum Beattie on new album INDI and trusting his instinct (#265)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar sits down with Callum Beattie to talk about a pivotal moment in his career and his forthcoming album INDI, released January 23rd. After landing two consecutive #1 albums on the Scottish Albums Chart, breaking into the UK Albums Chart with 2023’s Vandals, clocking up over 50 million streams, and selling more than 100,000 tickets in Scotland, Callum Beattie’s rise has been steady, earned, and unmistakable. That journey reached a major milestone with his sold-out headline show at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro, his...
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Sleaford Mods’ Jason Williamson on Planet X, cultural decay, and the evolution of the band (#264)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Jason Williamson, the fiercely articulate frontman of Sleaford Mods, to explore the band’s most ambitious and unflinching record yet: The Demise Of Planet X, out 16 January 2026 via Rough Trade Records. Created with long-time collaborator Andrew Fearn, the album expands the Mods’ sound both musically and emotionally, featuring rare and inspired guest appearances from Sue Tompkins (Life Without Buildings), Aldous Harding, Liam Bailey, and Nottingham grime MC Snowy. Their single “The Good Life” introduces a striking new...
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Oliver Murray on completing “The Beatles Anthology” and bringing Episode Nine to life (#263)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by acclaimed filmmaker Oliver Murray — the British writer–director redefining modern music documentary through his bold, cinematic approach. Following his 2023 short film Now and Then, The Last Beatles Song — made in collaboration with Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Sean Lennon and the Harrison Estate to celebrate the release of the Beatles’ final single — Oliver continues his creative relationship with the band by directing the brand-new, final chapter of the legendary Anthology series. First...
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Steve Lillywhite: Making “Fairytale of New York” with Kirsty MacColl & The Pogues (#262)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by legendary producer Steve Lillywhite — the Grammy-winning studio mastermind behind iconic records by U2, The Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, The Smiths, The Killers, Peter Gabriel, and many more. Steve talks about the release of a brand-new 4-track EP featuring a completely unreleased live version of “Fairytale of New York” — recorded at Glasgow Barrowlands in December 1987. This historic performance captures the first time The Pogues ever played the song live, and the first time Kirsty MacColl performed it onstage with...
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The Altered Hours: Cathal Mac Gabhann on Their Stunning New Self-Titled Album (#261)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by guitarist and songwriter Cathal Mac Gabhann from Cork alt-rock and shoegaze outfit The Altered Hours — one of Ireland’s most vital underground bands. The Altered Hours released their self-titled third album on November 7th via . Recorded to tape by analogue producer Julie McLarnon (New Order, Lankum, Happy Mondays), the album captures the band at their most raw, warm, and emotionally direct. Formed in 2010, the band have carved out a unique place in the European alternative scene through two albums, a run of EPs, and a...
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Pearce Macca: The Clause’s Rise and Debut Album “Victim of a Casual Thing” (#260)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Pearce Macca — frontman of Birmingham indie-rockers The Clause, a band whose rise has become one of the most inspiring new stories in modern British guitar music. The Clause have just unveiled their long-awaited debut album Victim of a Casual Thing — a record built on pure graft, unshakable friendship, and more than a decade of refusing to give in. What started in a cramped school practice room in 2011 — with Pearce Macca, Jonny Fyffe and Niall Fennell learning their favourite songs before Liam Deakin completed the...
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Roland Gift: 40 Years of Fine Young Cannibals & New Christmas Single (#259)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Roland Gift — the iconic voice of Fine Young Cannibals and one of the most instantly recognisable singers in British music. With era-defining hits like “She Drives Me Crazy,” “Good Thing,” “Johnny Come Home,” and their electrifying version of “Ever Fallen In Love,” Fine Young Cannibals became global chart-toppers — selling over five million records and earning two BRIT Awards, an Ivor Novello, and three Grammy nominations. Their sharp, soulful sound continues to influence generations. Roland returns with two...
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ALKY on Breaking the Cycle with His Debut Album ‘Rinse & Repeat’ (#258)
The XS Noize Podcast
In this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by — the Dublin-born indie-rock artist and former Emmy-nominated audio engineer whose raw, heartfelt songwriting is making serious waves across Ireland’s indie scene. From his breakout singles “Dirty Tricks,” “All Because of Love,” “Perfect,” and “How Do You?” to sold-out shows at Whelan’s and The Workman’s Club, ALKY has built a growing reputation for pairing widescreen anthems with brutally honest storytelling. Now, he’s stepping into a defining new chapter with the release of his debut album Rinse...
info_outlineIn this episode of the XS Noize Podcast, Mark Millar is joined by Jason Williamson, the fiercely articulate frontman of Sleaford Mods, to explore the band’s most ambitious and unflinching record yet: The Demise Of Planet X, out 16 January 2026 via Rough Trade Records.
Created with long-time collaborator Andrew Fearn, the album expands the Mods’ sound both musically and emotionally, featuring rare and inspired guest appearances from Sue Tompkins (Life Without Buildings), Aldous Harding, Liam Bailey, and Nottingham grime MC Snowy. Their single “The Good Life” introduces a striking new dimension, with Gwendoline Christie (Wednesday / Severance / Game of Thrones) and Midlands duo Big Special lending their voices to its escalating inner monologue.
Blending vivid sonics, acerbic storytelling and pitch-black humour, The Demise Of Planet X imagines the end of the world not through catastrophe, but through the creeping mundanity and absurdities of modern life. It’s a ferocious, witty and deeply human response to cultural collapse across 13 tightly wound tracks.
Jason discusses the album’s creation, the increasing paranoia and vulnerability in the new material, and the band’s most varied musical palette to date. He reflects on the collaborations — from Aldous Harding’s feather-light touch on “Elitest G.O.A.T.” to Sue Tompkins’ beautifully raw presence on “No Touch”, from Liam Bailey’s soulful turn on “Flood The Zone” to Snowy’s razor-edged bars on “Kill List.”
At the centre of the conversation is “The Good Life”, where Andrew Fearn’s tense production meets Williamson’s rapid-fire delivery, while Christie and Big Special voice the inner turmoil triggered by Jason’s own outspoken moments within the music world.
“Planet X isn’t a concept — it’s the world we’re living in.” — Jason Williamson
A bold, biting statement from one of Britain’s most vital bands, The Demise Of Planet X captures Sleaford Mods at their sharpest and most emotionally exposed.
Join Jason Williamson as he takes us inside the making of The Demise Of Planet X — the chaos, the craft, and the catharsis — exclusively on the XS Noize Podcast.