Title:Bloodsport By: Sneaker Pimps Released by: Tommy Boy Records Released on: 04/23/2002 Rating (out of 10): 8 Date: 06/08/2002
Sneaker Pimps Stomp Out the Doubters
Everyone deserves a second chance at a first impression. That’s exactly what you get with the Sneaker Pimps’ second album, Bloodsport. The band parted with former lead vocalist Kelli Dayton, the goddess who brought the band’s debut, Becoming X into the forefront with the hit singles “6 Underground” and “Spin Spin Sugar.” On Bloodsport, the band’s third album, guitarist Chris Corner takes the mic.
According to the band, this is how it was meant to be since day one. Of their debut, they say, “We originally did the demos with Chris singing on the songs. We recorded them with Kelli and it sounded right with her on those songs.”
A voice as addictive as Dayton’s would seem hard to replace with Corner, but he takes things to the room’s center, puts a speaker in your face and says, “Listen up.”
The band continues with a strong electronic feel without compromising the integrity of good, raw musicianship. These musicians use machines to tell stories through pulses and beats more than rising scales and falsettos that were never meant to be. Corner’s voice adds just the right flavor to the mix, giving the album the feel of an English shortbread that smells of the best electronic rock bakery in the business.
The album starts off right with “Kiro TV,” as Corner’s sharp-as-knives voice comes in after a few bars. It is surprising not to hear Dayton’s voice right off but by the time the chorus hits, you think, “Kelli who? Oh, I love the Osbournes. Yeah, great show.” The band comes out kickboxing beats that make Celebrity Boxing look like Lawrence Welk. Or back-up dancers for Celine Dion. Very tame.
The band also seems to set a new standard for the concept of an album, particularly in the electronic genre. Although each song works individually, the collection of songs can’t be ignored for its development of tempo, mood, theme and sense of completion. Even Sasha and Digweed could learn a lesson from the Sneaker Pimps how to do an album start to finish.
The first single, “Sick,” is a far cry from “6 Underground,” but then again, we shouldn’t expect that in the first place. The bassline dances up intervals without any static note although a pattern is definitely present. It seems like a song that would be better suited in a live setting but it is a happy-go-lucky fit on a studio album as well.
I’ve yet to hear “Sick” on any radio station—it doesn’t seem a likely companion to the crap (yeah, you heard me, Nickelback) we hear these days. Perhaps some college station deejay would be kind enough to humor me and play it just once.
Like anything electronica, the album just keeps going and going. And it flows ever so nicely. The impulsive movements between songs tie everything so tightly together that even Hurricane Bertha could plow through without losing everything to an angry sea of sound. Though some are better than others, each song holds something instinctively unique.
For example, the beat of “Small Town Witch” hesitates so much that you physically ache for the band to suddenly kick your ass. By the chorus you’ll be banging your head harder than you have since you last saw Pearl Jam in concert.
The balladesque “Black Sheep” flows perfectly into “Loretta Young Silks,” as if it’s Part Deux to the wooly song that precedes it. The transitions are nice but the words seem bunk. Perhaps it’s the oceans between us, but when someone says, “You’re so Loretta Young Silk,” do I take that as a compliment or get out the gloves? The Pimps never really mastered lyricism. Instead, their fans (myself included) get lost in the electronic exploration of the album and just hear some voices in the background. And we’re OK with that.
The only song where Bloodsport runs empty, ironically, is “The Fuel.” But things quickly pick up speed on the title track “Blood Sport.” The song starts with an on-beat breath and a frolicking electronic piano line that brings you into a hypnotic state of mind as vocals shift from the left to right channel. And here the lyrics actually seem OK. And the party keeps going with “Think Harder.” Ironically, you get so lost in its trance that you actually do the opposite and surrender to the Pimps. “That’ll be $15, please,” and you leave the music store with this CD in your hand. Sweet bliss.
The Sneaker Pimps haven’t lost anything. In fact, if anything, they’ve gained ground. They learned from the loss of Kelli Dayton and turned it into something that could bring the band out of obscurity. Nah. But at least the music’s good.
