Straw spun from gold, she craves a tortured soul

I originally heard of the Sneaker Pimps from a friend who was a massive vintage sneaker junkie. He had figured with a name like that they would have been an old-school hip-hop outfit from Queens. He was not pleased to discover they were a trip-hop band from the UK (“With a female vocalist no less!” He complained, “What happened to truth in advertising … or at least band names!?!”) On hearing his tortured story I figured I had to hear this band. Partly because I was starting to enjoy the trip-hop sounds sneaking over the pond but mostly because this friend were polar opposites as far as agreeing on bands went. If one of us found a song unpleasant and irritating the odds were good it would be a winner for the other. (Hey, you work with whatever method brings success. Back before iTunes and online music stores you took chances with paying import prices for music.)

With high hopes I looked for their album but all the band had out in the states at the time was an EP for the song “Tesko Suicide” so I snapped it up. I was not immediately impressed. On first listen I didn’t hear anything in “Tesko Suicide” that sounded new, fresh or slightly challenging. However, seconds after the lead track ended something interesting happened with the next song, “Post-Modern Sleaze.” Here was a dark, sweeping slice of sound that didn’t sound like everything else on the radio. There were some likenesses to what Tricky was doing on Maxinquaye but the acoustic guitar added a layer that sounded unique. The lyrics weren’t exactly poetry (the reference to Thelma or Louise hasn’t aged well at all) but they allowed Kelli Dayton’s voice to dip and soar beautifully. The song was five-plus minutes of bliss and I was glad all was right in the world about the chasm separating my musical tastes from my friend. Balance restored with the universe, life moved on.

Then a few months later something odd happened when the album came out. “Post-Modern Sleaze” made the album and based on the hope that other tracks would have a similar sound I grabbed the disc. Seconds into hearing the track on the album something went horribly wrong. Suddenly layers of strings were fiddling swooping in! Extra guitar effects moved in and out of the mix! The freaking drumbeat changed! The original sparse, dark trip-hop was now three plus minutes of dense, glossy confusion. It was like putting a coat of day-glow paint on a vintage car - sure, the car was still there but who cares now that it looks garish and loud? I did some research but never found out what happened to the original B-side version.

PLAY:

DOWNLOAD: Sneaker Pimps - Post-Modern Sleaze