Becoming X is one of the most engaging byproducts of post-Portishead trip-hop. While the Sneaker Pimps don't have the doomed romanticism of Portishead or the nasty experimental tendencies of Tricky, they have a cool sense of pop hooks and an edgier guitar attack than their predecessors. "Tesko Suicide" moves along with jagged guitars and rhythms, while "6 Underground" is coolly detached postmodern soul. Becoming X creates an airy, urban atmosphere, and while the record begins to unravel toward the end, it is an exciting, entrancing listen. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Line of Flight (Producer), Jim Abbiss (Engineer), Jim Abbiss (Mixing), Line of Flight (Mixing), Oggy (Engineer), Clive Goddard (Mixing), Jim Abbiss (Producer), Clive Goddard (Engineer), Line of Flight (Engineer), Line of Flight (Arranger), Luke Gifford (Engineer), Nellee Hooper (Mixing), Nellee Hooper (Editing), Luke Gifford (Mixing)
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Becoming X is the debut album from Sneaker Pimps released in 1996. The album was successful in England, while "6 Underground" and "Spin Spin Sugar" would become hits in the US.
The album also marked the only appearance of Kelli Dayton as a vocalist for the group, before she was asked to leave the band. Chris Corner became the band's vocalist for subsequent albums.
"How Do", the last track on Becoming X, is a cover of the song known as "Willow's Song" featured in the movie The Wicker Man (1973). Britt Ekland lip synched the song (completely naked) in the movie; Sneaker Pimps' version begins with a short sound clip from the movie. It is in turn used in the movie Abre los ojos (Open Your Eyes). Most recently, "How Do" was used during an intimate scene in the 2005 Eli Roth movie, Hostel.