Welcome to another new series, ‘Wishing for a Comeback’. Sometimes I think about artists/bands/groups and wish that they would release new material, even long after they have dissolved into the ether.

For instance: I wish Sneaker Pimps would release a new album. Their incredible trail (yes, including the bastard child Bloodsport) of trip-hop goodness helped to shape aspects of the modern sound scape from the peripheral. Blast just about any of their songs from your car system and you will certainly turn heads of those questioning ‘wtf?’ and those in-the-know thinking ‘hell yea! Sneaker Pimps!’.

Without an over dosage of Sneaker Pimps in my musical experience through my late teenage years (including the year Becoming X was released in which I had a hard time grasping the music) I doubt I would have jumped to even more chilled music (downtempo, chillout, both vocal and instrumental).

Annoying to me was those who passed off the group as another electronic-dance act.  Danceable, sure.. but so is just about any other band you intend on going to see live.  I think the attraction to the group here is more about the details in the beats, the odd sounds, the weird hooks, paired with some down trodden lyrics and vocals that really cashed in on that post-apoc feel (especially present/interesting in the late 1990’s for a lot of youth).

If you were put off by the fact that the female vocalist wasn’t present on the later releases (Splinter, Bloodsport), perhaps the music was lost on you as is most situations where people put so much emphasis on the vocal work of bands rather than the entire package.  Regardless of who would be singing the vocals, since I actually enjoyed Bloodsport quite a bit, I would love to see Sneaker Pimps release new material.