Honour - "Giz'aard ($uckets)"

From Chicago producer Honour's album Àl​á​á​f​í​à, the arresting song "Giz'aard ($uckets)" reads like a lost track from Tricky's trip-hop opus Maxinquaye. Treated pianos, buzzing synths, and militaristic percussion swirl and cluster together. 

Soccer Mommy - ""Unholy Affliction"

"Unholy Affliction" is the newest single from Soccer Mommy's upcoming album Sometimes, Forever which was produced by Oneohtrix Point Never (aka Daniel Lopatin). The song has a very dark, 90s feel, recalling Portishead, Massive Attack, and Tricky.

Tirzah - "Hive Mind"

From Tirzah's sophomore album Colourgrade, "Hive Mind" is a mesmerizing track that delves into trip-hop drums and skeletal musical backing. Tirzah and co-songwriter Coby Sey's vocals intertwine with one another, recalling the best songs of Tricky and Martina Topley Bird.

Smerz - "Believer"

 Norwegian duo Smerz plumb the depths of Pre-Millenium Tension-era Tricky in the title track to their upcoming debut album. The song is all rumbling basslines, strange electronics, shuffling drum programming, and whispered, almost chanted vocals that evoke a sense of dread and danger.

Tricky ft. Marta - "Like A Stone"

 

From Tricky's remarkable new record Fall to Pieces, "Like A Stone" is a perfect representative of the feeling and mood of the entire album.  The album was recorded in the aftermath of the death of Tricky's daughter and it is an intensely personal, grief-stricken set of songs that plunges into the depths of his pain.  The song, like most of the record, is built on an almost rudimentary beat, with droning synth strings, warped bass lines, and skeletal tendrils of guitar lines.  Tricky lends most of the vocals to his Polish discovery Marta, with his blank vocals snaking around hers.  

Jam of the Day: Denitia - "Never Told You"

I am loving how trip-hop is making a subtle comeback these days. Although her output is generally more R&B-leaning, singer/producer Denitia lets out some darkly gorgeous Tricky/Martina Topley-Bird vibes on this smokey track.

Jam of the Day: Tricky ft. Marina Topley-Bird - "When We Die"

Wonderful hearing Tricky collaborate again with his initial muse Marina Topley-Bird and, even better, come back with a song as beautiful and haunting as this.

Jam of the Day: Massive Attack ft. Tricky - "Take It There"

Menacing new track from Massive Attack's new EP Ritual Spirit.

Jam of the Day: Bosco - "ROSENWOOD/Pour the Whiskey"

Originally from my hometown, Savannah, Georgia, singer Bosco now resides in Brooklyn via a short tenure in Atlanta. This dense track comes off her debut EP BOY, and sounds a little like Aaliyah fronting NIN or Tricky. I am looking forward to more from this interesting new artist.

20th Anniversary: Tricky - Maxinquaye

Hard to believe Tricky's stunningly masterful debut album Maxinquaye is now twenty years old. Menacing, dark, sensual, and foreboding, it still sounds as brilliant now as it did then.

Jam of the Day: 18+ - "Crow"

Mysterious production duo 18+ from LA (isn't every production duo from LA "mysterious" these days?) so far have dropped three mixtapes. Their latest, Mixtap3, is a bizarre mix of future R7B, avant hip-hop, and electronica, as if Tricky's Pre-Millennial Tension was distilled down to a skeletal core. It's a difficult listen at times but bears fruit after multiple listens. Standout track "Crow" pulses with a dark energy, its minimal beats and almost obnoxious crow sample push the track forward while the male and female voices go back and forth in an drugged out cadence. It's a strange track, but oddly captivating.

New: Tricky ft. Francesca Belmonte - "Nicotine Love"

Sleek new track from Tricky. I find he is more appealing when he is not trying so hard to impress. Hopefully, this bodes well for his upcoming record.

Album Review: Tricky - False Idols

Tricky
False Idols
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Ever since he exploded onto the music scene with his brilliant debut album Maxinquaye, Tricky has done almost everything he can to distance himself from that album's distinctive and influential style. He moved to a more harder edge sound for subsequent records like Pre-Millenial Tension and Angels With Dirty Faces before almost completely forsaking his initial sound for more rap/hip-hop inspired forays and then alt-rock hybrids that never truly suited him. These post-90s records were never all out embarrassments, however, they did nothing but stall what was once considered a formidable force in the music world. After Angels With Dirty Faces, Tricky's albums were all considered (mostly by Tricky himself) to be his best record/return-to-form/masterpiece that ended up merely being words, the music not powerful enough to back up those claims. By 2008's Knowle West Boy, I basically tuned out the chatter for the records and just remembered the old Tricky, who was able to back up his big mouth with truly phenomenal music. So, with the release of his latest record False Idols, Tricky once again took to the press to announce this as being even better than Maxinquaye. Is it? Sadly no, but it is definitely his most cohesive and most interesting record since Angels With Dirty Faces.

Finally stopping his trend of making music that doesn't fit his personality, Tricky returns to his more atmospheric side, blending his dark beats with sinister electronics, strings, and textured guitars. Instead of trying to beat you senseless with an all-out sonic attack, Tricky lets silence and mood take over, with an overarching sense of dread and claustrophobia taking over. The worst you can say about some of these tracks are that they need to be fleshed out more. There are only a couple of skippable tracks among the 15 included here, which, on the basis of his last records, is a monumental improvement. While this record hearkens back to his Maxinquaye sound, Tricky almost appears hesitant and unsure here at times, not allowing that reckless sense of danger that permeated that landmark record take over. This prevents the album from really taking off, though it shows flashes of the cocksure brilliance Tricky showed early on in his career.

The album takes awhile to find its footing, making some missteps here and there, but towards the end of the record the pace hits its stride with some of Tricky's most ominous and strident tracks. "Does It" bludgeons with a dark as soot bassline and Middle Eastern musical accents, with Tricky speak-singing his words along with his latest breathy muse Francesca Belmonte;



percussion heavy "I'm Ready" drips with odd electronics and a sense of unease and dread; "Hey Love" heavily samples the synth riff from Japan's hit single "Ghosts" to create a twitchy vibe,



while closing track "Passion of the Christ" borrows motifs from "Does It" but smudges it heavily with booming drums and sampled/manipulated church bells.



These tracks show that Tricky still is very much in control of his vision, it is only where he seems hesitant or unsure does the record falter. Tracks like "If I Only Knew" and "Chinese Interlude" smack of trip-hop lite and stick out too much like sore thumbs in the mix. While he gets a little too mired in his alt-rock fixation on a track like "Is That Your Life" or lets his experimentation get too out of control as on the all-atmosphere of "Tribal Drums." The remaining tracks are all really good Tricky songs but just seem to lack that extra energy that permeated his best work, and which informs the back half of the record. With that said, it is hard to really argue much with the beauty of tracks like "Nothing's Changed," a reworking of his classic track "Makes Me Wanna Die,"



the slow-build of "Nothing Matters,"



or the trip-hop beats and languid guitars of "Bonnie and Clyde."



Despite Tricky's bold claims that this is better than Maxinquaye, False Idols is far short of that goal, but is still a step in the right direction, playing to Tricky's strengths rather than trying to make a square peg fit in a round hole. I am hoping that Tricky no longer feels like he has to run away from the sound that made him a success in the first place and will get him back to making the music that he is so good at making. Despite a few missteps on the album, False Idols is an extremely welcome return to form for the trip-hop master.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Non-Sequiturs

He's just a little bit perfect.

Yeah, I would be transfixed too.

Nice chest.

Love the salty chest.

Yummy.

Bow down before the one you serve.

Nice furry belly.

Dapper.

Woof.

Papa Bear!

Silver Daddy.

Sexy profile.

I need to unzip that.

Drool.

Double drool.

Beautiful belly.

Ripped.

Lovely.

Damn those abs.

Adorabear.

Slurp.

Yum.

Nice and fuzzy.

I cannot explain how sexy that stomach is.

Wet.

Delicious fur.

Sexy grin.

Cleans up nice.

Cub belly.

Hipster bear with an MPC.  Grrrrr.

Beefy.

Lol.

I'm done.

Damn.

Oink.

Double oink.

Hmmmmm.

Lovely.

Why do short work weeks seem longer than regular work weeks?

I loved the last album from These New Puritans, however, their new one just grates on my nerves and I have no real idea why.

When is another truly great Sci-Fi movie going to come out?

I need these.

A friend had an interesting comment to me the other day, saying that he said in chatting with him I seemed very happy with my life and where I was, but that these posts seemed like I worried and fretted about a lot of things and came across as being unhappy. Looking back, I agree it's a valid point, but honestly, I don't think of me being down all the time. Honestly, with any social media I use, you are really only seeing about 10% of who/what I am. I really see this as being sort of mental dumping ground of just minor things and some major things. I do try to sort of balance things out, but I guess sometimes it leans more to the negative things. It is always interesting getting someone else's viewpoint of yourself. I guess I need to to a better job of how I portray myself on here.

It appears that everyone I know owns a Nasty Pig jock.

My gym (that I love) is upping its rates in July. It was already ridiculously expensive but I have been there for years and just like how it is. With that said, $3 more a month, which doesn't really seem like a lot, struck a nerve with me and I immediately put in my cancellation notice.

Paris is always a good idea.

Janet manages her time wisely.

I'm an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, drizzled in ranch dressing.

Weird thought: would you be attracted to you if you met you?

Midtown Atlanta is not Downtown Atlanta.

I'm not good at censoring myself.

Calvin & Hobbes as assassins.  I kind of like it.

It's nearing almost 13 years since The Avalanches released their phenomenal debut record Since I Left You, and still there are no signs of a follow-up. I guess, like DJ Shadow's album ...Entroducing, there is just no way to actually follow it up. It will only end up disappointing too many people.

I miss having Pride in Atlanta in June.

Somehow I don't think there are going to be a lot of Game of Thrones-themed weddings this year.

Never do leg workouts twice in one week.

Might need to check this place out.

Dear Tricky, you cannot claim your own album to be your masterpiece. While False Idols is a very good Tricky record, it is nowhere near the brilliance of Maxinquaye.

Favorite quote of the week: Rhinos are just fat unicorns.

I'm just not a convertible person.

It is a very very small world at times.

Someone told me the other day that I looked well preserved. Not sure how to take that statement.

Hi there!

If you have a problem with something I have written, or notice a mistake in spelling in grammar, it is less douchey to contact me personally than to show what an ass you are in a comment that is broadcast to everyone.

If you do not own a copy of Tricky's Maxinquaye you are doing yourself a huge disservice.

Someone recently told me a friend of theirs looked exactly like me and that we could be twins. I looked at pictures of the guy and, aside from the fact we have same eye color, I didn't see the similarity. Just made me think about how others perceive us and that is always going to be different from how we see ourselves. Nothing wrong with that, but always interesting to note that if someone is not attracted to you, or harbors some grievance with you, that their perception is colored by factors that we have no control over.

Just so you know, there is nothing "straight acting" about you if you sleep with men.

Great pic.

Two music genre names that I thought amusing: baroque techno and death folk.

Best band name this week: Master Musicians Of Bukkake.

Bear Week in Provincetown is in about 5 weeks and I can't wait. I will need an Excel spreadsheet to keep up with all that we are supposed to be doing.

 Your cute of the day.

Lyrics Rattling Around My Brain

"Waiting for
My words to catch like I'm trying
To strike a match that's soaking wet
See through skull
See through skin
Leave all the lights on
Can't see out, but they see in

Stare down my nose, watching
The color drain from my eyes
Cold cereal and TV
Before I go to sleep

Breathing out, hoping to breathe in
I know nothing's wrong, but I'm not convinced

No, I know, I know how far it's gone myself
Maybe I'll believe it from somebody else
No, I know, I know how far it's gone myself
Maybe I'll believe it from somebody else

Breathing out
Hoping to breathe in
I know nothing's wrong, but I'm not convinced
I can let it happen, just let it happen
Just don't think so much, don't think so much."

Local Natives
"Breakers"

"We were in love for just a second
You leave me with all those questions
That lead me to no direction

Was it just me?
You're all that I'd ever wished
You decide what it is
And let my heart sink
You decide what it is
Left me no choice to speak

I didn't know that kiss meant good-bye
It's funny how things played out in your mind."

Tricky
"If Only I Knew"

"I can help you run away for good
All for take what you had understood
All it takes is a little understanding
After all, don't question if I would

Confess to me, make me feel it
Confide in me, don't resent it
'Cause I can't stop you from the fire
I'll fulfill your desires for you

Confess to me, make me feel it
Confide in me, don't resent it
'Cause I can't stop you from the fire
I'll fulfill your desires for you

I'll fulfill your desires for you
I'll fulfill your desires for you

I can take the lo out of lonely
I can stop the sense of slowing down
Don't get lost in if you only tell me
I will help you slip and turn it round

Only not to worry
No time left for me
Only not to worry
No time left for me."

Disclosure ft. Jesse Ware
"Confess to Me"

Appealing Things

Rudimental
Chase & Status returning with new music
Oven roasted pork loin
NIN back on tour
Disclosure coming to Atlanta
Planning a Friday night out at the movies
Staying and making dinner
Showing Andrew Auntie Mame for the first time and him loving it

Annoying Things

Rain at a pool party
The new Chase & Status song, which is kind of lame
People who can't keep their big mouths' shut
Being sick when the weather is nice
$70 tickets for New Order