Recording music and winning fans with their quality recordings and live performances, the Sneaker Pimps are definitely a must-see uncompromising band.
On Dec. 10, they will rock the stage at Maxwell’s on Washington Street and play songs from their new album Bloodsport.
Half a decade ago, the future of electronica music in America was filled with promise. Despite the genre’s demise from the pop music spotlight, a few artists have come out from that movement to continue to create inventive and meaningful songs. The Sneaker Pimps are a perfect example.
They made their mark with their very successful and critically-acclaimed debut album Becoming X, released in 1997. A unique blend of heavily-produced post-grunge sounds provided the band with valuable airtime and credibility in the rock world. A few years later they came out with Splinter, which was a departure of their industrial electric music.
"We’ve had a moment musically. We aim at making really brilliant music," Joe Wilson, the band’s lead guitarist, said during a recent interview.
This year, the band released their third album, titled Bloodsport, on Tommy Boy Music. The 11-track compilation is a rollercoaster of sound that combines the band’s superb songwriting ability and electronic musical production.
The single "Sick" is a Brit-pop rock gem that has been receiving well-deserved radio airplay. Another track that is worth mentioning is "Loretta Young Silks." The song is about Hollywood’s mindframe where everybody tries to cling to their youthful looks, according to Wilson.
"The song is very Hollywood. Everybody tries to hold on to their youth," Wilson said.
The title of the Sneaker Pimps’ latest album accurately depicts the band’s powerful songwriting.
"It’s a title meant to evoke love and how relationships can sometimes be a brutal emotional pursuit," said Liam Howe. "The record, musically, has a certain prettiness to it. But the emotions flowing underneath, in the writing of the songs, can at times be quite savage. We like that contrast."
Since debuting with Becoming X, the Pimps have traveled an interesting journey that has included lineup changes and new directions in their sound. Through it all, the English quartet has been anchored by a foundation of good songwriting and willful execution. During the hey-day of electronica, Sneaker Pimps was a band that focused on the value of crafting songs instead of just loops of beats.
"It’s always been about the song for us," said band member David Westlake. "Our thinking is that if you couldn’t sit down with an acoustic guitar and do the song, it wasn’t worth doing."
Becoming X was recorded in just a few weeks in 1997, when the band featured Chris Corner, Howe, Westlake, Wilson and singer Kelli Dayton. The album earned a wave of accolades from across Europe and the U.S., especially for addictive singles like "Tesko Suicide" and "Spin Spin Sugar." After an intense international touring schedule that left the band away from their friends and family for months, the group separated from Dayton.
"We originally did the demos with Chris singing on the songs," said Howe. "We recorded them with Kelli and it sounded right with her on those songs. We never wanted to push the idea of a ‘lead singer’ because the focus was always the music. But the album did well and it suddenly just ran away with itself."
Without Dayton, the band reverted back to its original lineup, as they had had debuted at Reading, England in 1995. For their second full-length release, Splinter (released in Europe in 1999), Sneaker Pimps took on a bolder and rockier approach. It was a darker, more introspective sound and something Westlake explained was good for the well-roundedness of the group.
"It was the right thing for the time and we enjoyed it. It was something different," he said.
On Bloodsport, the Pimps have gone back to expressing their songs in an electronic context. Merging their technical knowledge of studio equipment and the roots of their traditional songwriting, Bloodsport allows the listener to experience a versatile group, much like their predecessors Depeche Mode, that is engaging in its range of music.
"We always like to keep moving and playing with our sound," said Howe. "This album is a lot like an amalgamation of our previous albums, an electronic album but still very organic."
To make Bloodsport, the group packed their studio and headed toward the French country. The album was recorded in just under a year, with Westlake and Wilson gathering samples and grooves and Corner and Howe writing songs. "Kiro TV," the album’s first track, is a song the group said set the tone for their current sound. Appropriately, it also opened the Sneaker Pimps’ live shows.
"It’s like an electronically controlled version of a punk song," said Westlake of the track’s many layers of beats, vocal transitions and guitar bursts. "It’s dirty and dense, similar to ‘Tesko Suicide’ from the first album. It works really well live."
Underneath the floating melody of "Small Town Witch," listeners can find a story of small-town resentment.
In addition to the album, Sneaker Pimps have also been producing and remixing for other artists. They recently co-wrote and co-produced two tracks for Natalie Imbruglia. Also, they remixed the Cher song "Take Me Home" by Sophie Ellis Bextor.
But it is their latest full-length, Bloodsport, which is their proudest achievement, said Westlake. "We’re really keen to be back in the dance environment, to push toward the groove again," he said.
The show at Maxwell’s will be the second time they’ve played at the mile-square venue.
"We get a good response in Hoboken. It has a Manhattan feel to it, and the people appreciate quality music," Wilson said.
The Pimps will play at Maxwell’s at 1039 Washington St. on Dec. 10. at 8 p.m. For more information call (201) 653-1703 or visit www.sneakerpimps.com. q