High-top trip pop

Sneaker Pimps take rock's dance with electronica literally

by CHRIS YURKIW

Sneaker Pimps, Lionrock, The Aloof: three British groups I knew nothing about before landing at the Transmusicales festival in Brittany last December. But after seeing them play on the same bill, it quickly became apparent what the fest organizers were getting at. Samples, programs and boxed beats abounded in each, but they were all still bands, with guitars and drums and sweaty singers too. If the salient point of the whole festival in Rennes was its jigger of Screaming Trees mixed with a dash of Daft Punk, this bill was the rock/dance cocktail pre-shaken.

Sneaker Pimps are arguably the most rock of the three, but that might only be because they've taken their languorous trip pop into the charts at home. Over in Blighty, you can read about keyboardist Liam Howe, guitarist Chris Corner and vocalist Kelli Dayton in either Melody Maker or Mixmag, but North America's current tryst with a formerly shunned dance music sets a different scene.

"At home, people are not quite sure what we are," says Corner. "We're not really doing anything that's hugely new and cutting-edge in the scheme of things in England, but because we're on this crest of a wave of English electronica music coming over to America, people here are fortunately quite excited about it. People are a little more naïve to it here, and it's nice to see that." Yeah, nice--Jesus Jones could have used a groovy movement to latch onto.

A few years back, ex-astrophysics student Corner and art/philosophy graduate Howe were still smitten with idea of being artistes. They called themselves Line Of Flight and produced "underground and obscure dance music" which Corner describes as "quite difficult, very slow, quite unlistenable." Then they reverted back to Plan A, which for one gig and one white-label they had called F.R.I.S.K.: "We decided to get back to guitars and do quite a traditional songwriting thing, but still use the production that we'd developed." Enter kitten-voiced frontwoman Dayton, who the boys spotted singing for a punk band in a pub, and almost all the elements for crafting radio-ready electronica were in place. Just one more thing: take a name from Beastie slang for those who professionally seek hard-to-find sneaks (like discontinued Air Jordans) for wealthy trendies.

Sneaker Pimps' debut long-player is enigmatically called Becoming X (Virgin), and the best songs polarize the rock and dance influences, like "Post-Modern Sleaze," which relies on acoustic drums and flaunts such authentic rock tools as slide acoustic guitar.

Sneaker Pimps play Foufounes Électriques this Sunday, April 27, 8pm. $10+taxes & service