Sneakster - Pseudo-Nouveau/Fifty Fifty (CD)

All Music Guide

Quite similar to the material released by other projects including members of Seefeel (Scala, Mark Van Hoen's Locust), Sneakster skates on the boundaries of several familiar musical styles: dream pop, ambient minimalism, experimental techno, and trip-hop. Clifford's productions are chilly, precise, and in most cases, very fragile; Pseudo Nouveau is definitely an album more suited for indie popsters than beat-heads. And even when he does desert the floating-synth ambience for tougher rhythms on "Whileaway," "Heavy Heat, Heavy Time," and "Sweet Melody," Hinkley reins in the tracks with her vocals, simultaneously smoky and seductive yet often distanced and resigned. She's working from the same template forged by Portishead's Beth Gibbons and Lamb's Louise Rhodes (as well as Seefeel's Sarah Peacock). It's hardly a surprising direction for Clifford, but Pseudo Nouveau retains much of the gorgeous sound of the Seefeel classics Quique and Pure, Impure. The American release adds Fifty-Fifty, a... remix EP wherein Robin Guthrie adds his delicious soft-toned guitar to the album tracks "Fireheart," "Stolen Letter," and "Kinda Blue." - John Bush, All Music Guide Read more Less