4 tracks · 17 min
It isn't that Tricky is no longer elaborating on his signature sound -- turning out variations of Maxinquaye would perhaps be regressive, but it would also still be enjoyable -- but that he's burrowed into bitter, nasty self-parody. It's little wonder that Island decided to cut its losses while the label could, since he's become positively obsessed with two things: proving his street hip-hop credibility (without changing his sound, mind you) and dwelling on his lack of commercial success. This might not be a death knell if he demonstrated a willingness to change, but he's stubbornly sticking to the sound he settled on with Pre-Millennium Tension. Not bad, at least sonically, but certainly not groundbreaking -- an impression not helped by the recycling of the (admittedly difficult to find) independently released single "Divine Comedy," wherein Tricky attacks Island for not giving him adequate support. Well, who could??? The guy has a talent bordering on genius, and even if his three albums following Maxinquaye merely expanded that record's sound, they were often compelling. But it was never, ever, commercial -- especially in the U.S., where trip-hop was only marginally thirty-someth…
