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Tricky: Blowback

© Katherine Wharmby

Tricky's new album Blowback came out in the States on June 26 to rave reviews from music magazines and websites. Critics are saying that the sound of Blowback is a return to an earlier, more accessible Tricky. It's definitely easier listening than albums like Pre-Millennium Tension and Angels with Dirty Faces. It's also less moody than his previous offerings. There's an air of quiet content around it that's almost disconcerting. I mean, this is Tricky we're talking about here. Surely it couldn't be that he's actually happy?

Not to worry, though; the first track, Excess, is classic, seething Tricky. His multitracked vocals hiss over a lolloping beat while an ice-cool female vocalist sings along with him the way Martina Topley-Bird, his former muse and mother of his baby, used to do. Piano and guitar occasionally crackle in the background.

But the happiness strikes again! Evolution Revolution Love, the American single, is ecstatic: there's no other way to describe it. A blend of swirling strings and piano cradles the voice of Live's Ed Kowalczyk, then hushes for the lazy toasting of Hawkman. Tricky comes in to comment on the proceedings, then drifts off again into the haze. And I have to say that what makes the song for me is hearing white-boy Kowalczyk say the incongruous phrase, "Let me take it to the mike."

Tricky goes all nu-metal on Girls, featuring Anthony Kiedis and John Frusciante from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It's a brooding, bottom-heavy funk sludge that manages to suit (and warp) both Tricky's and the Peppers' styles at the same time. To compromise, Tricky ratchets his growl up to a roar, and Anthony and John tone down their usual friendly hyperactivity.

The other Tricky/Frusciante track, #1 Da Woman, also features Peppers bassist Flea, but despite its all-star cast, it's one of the album's weaker tracks. It's just a Chili Peppers song with Tricky singing Anthony's part and Flea filling in the notes Tricky can't quite get his voice to reach. John and Flea don't stretch themselves to meet Tricky’s style; instead they cram him uncomfortably into theirs.

You Don't Wanna stars Ambersunshower, the new Martina. Backing her up is a stop-start, darkly metallic melody that sounds like a Trickified version of the Eurythmics' Sweet Dreams. There's a lot more power and passion in Amber's voice than Tricky's ex had; she's earthy rather than ethereal. That's not to say Martina's voice wasn't beautiful; just that Ambersunshower brings a different sound to the mix. Her forthright delivery has influenced the album's sound, too, bringing it closer to the mainstream than some of Tricky's earlier collections.

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