*1/2 Sneakster

PSEUDO-NOUVEAU

(Bella Union)

Quique, the debut full-length by the British noise-guitar band Seefeel, provided an aural glimpse of what My Bloody Valentine's long-awaited next album might sound like: waves of voluptuous six-string drone atop incantatory rhythms and mystic whispers. But having updated blisspop for the nascent techno era, Seefeel guru Mark Clifford then withdrew the band into a minimal-electronica territory of dislocated beats and disembodied vocals. Now, after pursuing his arrhythmic isolationism under the alias Disjecta, he makes an awkward return to the pop landscape with Sneakster.

Like Seefeel, Sneakster boast female vocals that bear considerable resemblance to the Cocteau Twins template -- and indeed, Pseudo-Nouveau is released on Bella Union, the label managed by Twin instrumentalists Robin Guthrie and Simon Raymonde. But those who were entranced by Clifford's once-innovative guitarrorism will be disappointed to discover that Sneakster are practically ax free. The music is largely fizzled beats, sultry vocals, and keyboard meanderings; "Static" is powered by a loop of a synthetic flute. The real irony is that Pseudo Nouveau sounds like a pale imitation of the edgier techno-pop of Scala, the outfit formed by Clifford's ex-Seefeel compadres.

-- Patrick Bryant