1999's 'Splinter' album represented a positive affirmation that the Sneaker Pimps were not going to be yet another average trip-hop band. The move to become an electronic gothic pop group was a critical if not a commercial step forward. Continuing this theme,'Bloodsport' is a consolidation of their synthetically calculated sound. Boasting strong, bruised addictive choruses 'Loretta Young Silks' and 'Kiro TV' dissect the seediness of modern society in clinical fashion. 'M'aidez' has an elegant grace rarely found on modern electronic music and 'Sick' - possibly the most uptempo track on this album - offers the listener the chance to hear Chris Corner's decent falsetto. On another consistent set of pieces, there is only one that could be termed a clunker, the glam stomp through 'Small Town Witch' doesn't really suit them at all. If Japan - both the group and the country - have influenced them in the past, it's Depeche Mode circa 'In Your Room' which informs the industrial grind of 'The Fuel'. The sad irony is that whilst modern-day Depeche Mode would probably aspire to sound as sophisticated as this, it is them rather than the Sneaker Pimps who sell records for fun.