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Rating:
"My mother never told me that love is a bloodsport" (Chris Corner)
Yeah, and mine never warned me that it's hard to resist clichés.
Let me give an example: let's say that in the '90s, the Trip-Hop dominates the electronic scene and we take two guys (who then become four) from Reading, England, with a passion for the noble art of Disc-Jocking (forgive the neologism) and a visceral attraction to Depeche Mode. Imagine they manage to put together a project after some underground time in various clubs and basements, and to make it appealing (given the times), they sprinkle some trippy sounds here and there and entrust the singing to a sweet damsel as was the fashion of the time (1996).
Incredible as it may seem, if in question within the album (Becoming X) the flagship song is called "6 Underground", the game is done: heavy rotation airplay, an advertising jingle, a presence in a soundtrack (The Saint), and a collaboration with another piece with Reverend Manson in the "Spawn" soundtrack—yes, in short, things are going well... and then... and then... and then nothing: the '90s end, the Millennium Bug takes away the dominance of Italian football clubs in Europe, grunge, and even Trip-Hop.
It's a pity that our protagonists have very little of these origins, but the risk of collapsing with the whole system is great, and then we know, anatomically and mentally, virginity does not recreate itself, but they try anyway: so Kelly Dayton (the singer) is out, who to be honest did not blend well with the group's sound, and instead we have founder Chris Corner, much more suited to interpreting his own lyrics, and Liam Howe (the other young man mentioned earlier) returning to a more keyboardist than disc jockey role.
But by now, the damage is done, and the Sneaker Pimps are already neatly archived (and forgotten) in the Trip-hop cauldron... A misfortune, because the subsequent works by the former Frisk indeed have something to say: in fact, even if there isn't a transcendental change in sound, the skill in moving through electronics and a more articulated melody search make a new warmth envelop the new works. The result is that Corner's more versatile voice and moreover a somewhat less "artificial" and more instrumental arrangement characterize both "Splinter" (1999) and, especially, "Bloodsport" (2002).
Here my pains kick in: "which to review first?" Well! After a quick self-examination, I realize that the emotional "up and down" proposed by the second makes it favored in my potential affective scale. "Emotional up and down", it was said, and indeed what is noticeable from the first listen is the constant mood swing from one track to the next. If the sound remains always in a dark-electronic environment (with broad references to the already mentioned Depeche Mode, Joy Division, but also to Cocteau Twins), there are songs like "Loretta Young Silks" that propose catchy choruses, but also pieces like "Small Town Witch" and the same title track that instead focus more on "rhythmic rebounds", yes, catchy but surely soaked in a melancholy that peaks in the beautiful "Grazes".
Another fundamental characteristic of this work is the uptempo sound that covers it, first aggressively (the initial "Kiro Tv" and "Sick") then gradually softening throughout the work, until it becomes a mere contour that serves only to better contextualize a work that would otherwise sound a bit too retro. Within this apparent concept, the diversity of "Fuel" stands out, a song that proposes really sharp rhythms and in which a certain reverence for the sound of Gore & co. is noticeable, but the beauty is that it remains a reference and certainly not plagiarism. Very interesting are the lyrics, which mostly speak of sentimental frustrations and fit well in the musical environment created by the English quartet.
In short, a different album, unconventional but certainly not difficult, where one often finds oneself involuntarily tapping the time, thanks to the various dance references that are nonetheless abundant but never invasive.
Unfortunately, as already mentioned, the album did not have much commercial success, although it received some good reviews, but perhaps then (and probably even now) the times were not quite right. Fortunately, the LP does not run the risk of aging prematurely; therefore, it remains in patient waiting. Meanwhile, Corner has embarked on another project called "IAMX" and who knows, maybe one day…
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Kiro TV (03:46)
Ok, you had sedatives and cold champagne
They say 'that must be the price of fame'
It's not a joke if you can choke on the thought of it
You're not my friend to defend if you're loving it
So Kurt I heard that you squeezed somebody's hand
It doesn't hurt if you think about your fans
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again like it's oxygen
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again like it's oxygen
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again like it's oxygen
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again want your heroes dead
So high, if you think of the fans
So high, if you think of the fans
Ok, they got your file down at the CIA.
They say you're worse than Manson for the USA
It's not grief if you can see through the source of it
It's only true if you're bruised by the force of it
So Kurt I heard that you opened up your eyes
They call it work but it don't make it civilised
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again like it's oxygen
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again want your heroes dead
Ok, time takes your cigarette
They say it puts it in your mouth then you'll forget
No longer "live 105" can you hear me
The life expectancy of any popularity
So Kurt I heard that the side-show bet your life
It doesn't hurt but the worst go nevermind
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again like it's oxygen
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again like it's oxygen
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again like it's oxygen
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again want your heroes dead
Kiro TV
Kiro TV
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again like it's oxygen
Kiro TV
They've got their visions again want your heroes dead
So high, if you think of the fans
So high, if you think of the fans
02 Sick (04:16)
i'm playing games with your sex, with your 'lectric shocks
learn to let myself loose and be the dummy in your snapshots
i'm playing games learn to get on with your backward fans
stick my body in the sun and help to get rid of the white tan
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
i'm playing games, marking names with the blackest thoughts
if you're building me up to be the target for your cheap shots
i'm playing games keep a blind eye on the main chance
strip my body of its skin and try to cancel out the white trash
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
i'm playing games if your aim is for the quick fix
cos I know what you wanted and i know how you got it
i'm playing games if you play i'm in the fast lane
learn to jump into the road and learn to save a little lost face
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
And maybe then you wouldn't get so sick of me
04 Black Sheep (04:02)
Don't look now, we're branded, we're the black sheep
Sewn apart and Siamese � the black sheep
When the water seems too deep
The shadows always wait beneath
But laughing loud we brave the role of black sheep
If you see me you'll be crossing the street
Or kick me and then leave me to bleed
If looks could kill wouldn't need all the pills
But I take what it needs to be easy with the black
sheep now
Don't look now, we're stranded here as black sheep
Swallowed whole and out of reach � the black sheep
Unsafe enough for now
We're shepherded from higher ground
But drowned all out we save the role of black sheep
If you see me you'll be crossing the street
Or kick me and then leave me to bleed
If looks could kill wouldn't need all the pills
But I take what it needs to be easy with the black
sheep now
05 Loretta Young Silks (06:00)
Got answers for everyone - endless excuses
Not habit for anyone cos I'm trying to break your click track heart
Seen a vision of perfect grace - airbrushed and lifeless
All contempt and aftertaste, it's like I'm waiting for the scars to heal
You sew Loretta Young Silks - fashioning your self-escape
You sew Loretta Young Silks - trading on yoursuperwaif
All style before content - using me as bait
You sew Loretta Young Silks - swapping your love for hate
Soft-focus for full appeal - pictured as flawless
No context for self-esteem - I'd be pushed to give you love on that
As far as the eye can see - too much perfection
Pure substance for wannabes - keeps you beating to a click track heart
You sew Loretta Young Silks - fashioning your self-escape
You sew Loretta Young Silks - trading on your superwaif
All style before content - using me as bait
You sew Loretta Young Silks - swapping your love for hate
07 The Fuel (04:52)
I've got the fuel in my head from the flash, I need to break sweat
I've got the feeling I might get offensive, I might be some threat
I want back doors, want blood on the sheets again
Give me back doors, give me blood on sheets again
I feel the fuel like a thorn, cuts in deep
I want to see cheap
Like a rose on a bed without scent I need my self-respect
For shames sake by any other name
When the seeds take, it grows like weeds and spreads like flames
I've got the fuel but the fuel got me burning me up when it fires again, fires again
I've got the fuel but the fuel got me
Bringing me off when it cools again, cools again, cools again, cools again
I've got the fuel but the fuel got me burning me up when it fires again, fires again
I've got the fuel but the fuel got me
Bringing me off when it cools again, cools again, cools again, cools again
10 Blue Movie (04:10)
Get on that gospel train for my lord is coming soon
Get on that gospel train for my lord is coming soon
So you had me going too, any day I've the taste just laughed
On a week of solar wing, getting off on electro-flesh
All the boys and all the girls, making out and taking turns
The sound was going down, I could see how Jesus wept
Get on that gospel train for my lord has come too soon
Watching movies, true blue movies
Get on that gospel train for my lord has come too soon
Watching movies, true blue movies
Exposure on a TV screen, technicolour rainbow kiss
Bruises on his solarplex, baby faced the biting lips
All the boys and all the girls, cutting nice with instant thrills
Insects on incest friends, heaven dressed the Judas spit
Get on that gospel train for my lord has come too soon
Watching movies, true blue movies
Get on that gospel train for my lord has come too soon
Watching movies, true blue movies
So whatever happened to love talk and polite remarks
Mind willing and her body weak, she's a star in a galaxy of real go fast
I'm the boy on all the girls, taking off their Bible belts
Storm girls on self destruct, and I can see how Jesus felt
Get on that gospel train for my lord has come too soon
Watching movies, true blue movies
Get on that gospel train for my lord has come too soon
Watching movies, true blue movies
Get on that gospel train for my lord has come too soon
Watching movies, true blue movies
Get on that gospel train for my lord has come too soon
Watching movies, true blue movies
Get on that gospel train for my lord is coming soon
Get on that gospel train for my lord is coming soon
Get on that gospel train for my lord is coming soon
Get on that gospel train for my lord is coming soon
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