I must confess I'd pretty much given up on TRICKY. After a widely-hailed classic debut album (1995's 'Maxinquaye', lest we forget) and a footnote in the annals as one of the Bristolian big three (along with Massive Attack and Portishead) who invented 'trip-hop' , the man also known as Mr. Adrian Thaws seemed to deliberately make a career of moving further and further away from anything resembling commercialism and his formerly prestigious stock fell accordingly.
Although 'Maxinquaye"s follow-up 'Pre-Millennium Tension' (1997) began to lever open the door to the darkness, it's one your reviewer still enjoys to a degree and his short-lived 'Nearly God' project also had its' moments. From there on, though, it became harder to sympathise as the clouds of self-inflicted paranoia and lack of discernible tunes clouded the reasons why we loved Tricky in the first place.
So it's gratifying to report that - after a lengthy exile in the US - our hero has finally come in from the cold with his most approachable and impressive set since the much-vaunted 'Maxinequaye'. It's -I hope - the first instalment in what should be a fruitful alliance with the excellent Domino label and finds Tricky looking to the creative lynchpins of his formative years (post-punk, reggae, Two-Tone and the earlier, hard-edged rap and hip-hop pioneers) to create something potent and forward-looking all his own.
Opener 'Puppy Toy' is heartening in itself. Kicking in with a louche, blues-y rumble, it finds Tricky sparring like a well-oiled lothario with an unidentified lady of his choice. She rejects his advances ("there's nothing wrong with me mate...oh piss off!"), the drums kick in and within a minute or so we've hit a proud, rising chorus ("you stare and look confused/ your fruit is slightly bruised!") which serves notice that not only has Tricky re-discovered tunes and choruses but he's back on toasting terms with humour as well.
It's by no means an isolated incident either. Tracks like 'Slow' and the terrific 'C'mon Baby' welcome humbucking guitars, pounding drums and anthemic interaction with open arms. Also notable is that Tricky appears to have a couple of new vocal foils along the lines of Martina Topley-Bird and Shara Nelson in the wings. My promo material holds no clue to their identities, but their performances on these tunes and tracks like the deceptively ethereal 'Cross To Bear' - where Tricky's own voice prowls and shadows them the way he did on those classic early tracks - are truly compelling.
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OK, the creeping paranoia of yore hasn't entirely dissipated either, but even when Tricky comes over all clammy and atmospheric here, he still intrigues. To this end, witness the synth-swathed, funereally-paced 'Past Mistake', the murderously skeletal, beat-heavy 'Veronika' and - perhaps best of all - the Eastern scales, drooling oppression and fuzz-heavy basslines of 'Coalition' where Tricky looks to the powder keg of the Middle East, terrorism and the information overload that informs our post-Orwellian world, before observing "how can I be surrounded by people and still feel lonely?" Quite.
Arguably, though, 'Knowle West Boy"s finest moments come when Tricky directly references his past. The wonderful 'Council Estate' pivots around gravity-defying basslines and comes on like a Junglist, 21st Century version of The Specials ("we don't like school, in a week we go once/ we don't like the police 'cos they kick and grunt") before delivering that fantastically memorable kiss-off line of "remember boy, you're a superstar!" which should single-handedly help Tricky reclaim festival glory in the near future. More low-key, but equally affecting is the closing 'School Gates': a clearly autobiographical tale of teenage pregnancy and the shadow it casts over many lives which - thanks to its' stark poignancy - throws much of what surounds it into especially sharp relief. It's quite a postscript and demonstrates that the post-Millennial Tricky has surely gained and grown during his journey from young, gifted and black contender through to older, wiser and emotionally scarred Godfather deserving of our respect.
'Knowle West Boy', then, finds Tricky returning home, putting what he's learnt to more than good use and wearing his bruises proudly. Whether it'll be regarded as a messianic second coming across the board remains to be seen, but it's good enough to be bracketed with 'Maxinequay' overall and is certainly one of the best returns from self-imposed dusty wildernesses in recent times. Good to have you back, sir.
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