In a way, Sleaford Mods were preaching doom long before our collective anxieties became a cottage industry, burrowing themselves into the public consciousness deeper than the frown lines on Jason Williamson’s forehead.

Are you suffering from the plague of the affordability crisis? The rot of the ruling class? Consumerism, toxic masculinity, the poison of nationalism, depression, work, the weather? Sleaford Mods have got you — setting Williamson’s slurred East Midlands rants against Andrew Fearn’s bass-heavy, minimalist electro-punk loops.

So what’s an artist to do when their frequency — once the adroit grumbling of ageing punks — becomes the global standard? Well, you get happy, right?

At surface level, at least, that seems to be the rule of the day on The Demise of Planet X, the duo’s latest. Some of the grime has been washed off Fearn’s production, giving way to glossier, more upbeat progressions. Small indications of begrudging, dour cheeriness seep through Williamson’s usual fatalistic barrage — though it would take a review ten times this length to begin unpacking what that actually means in practice.

It’s not all roses, obviously. Sleaford Mods continue skewering the dirtiest corners of contemporary life, just over beats that bounce around like punch-drunk sunbeams. Thrust up the bracket by a small gallery of guests — including a fantastic cameo by Sue Tompkins of cult indie band Life Without Buildings on “No Touch” — the record delivers another vitriolic and hilarious edict on why everything is going down the drain.

Of course, fans of the group always knew there was little to worry about. Sleaford Mods still sound like two soused Cro-Magnons, gleefully stomping through the modern landscape, hands balled into fists, acid pouring from the tongue.