Tricky - ununiform

The Guardian 80

(False Idols/!K7)

Strange things are afoot on Tricky’s 13th LP: its quality, for one. The trip-hop maverick’s former foil, Martina Topley-Bird, guests for the first time in 14 years; a sombre treat. Elsewhere, Russian rappers jostle against a perplexing cover version of Hole’s Doll Parts. The former are excellent, with the lairy Scriptonite juxtaposed against Tricky’s malevolent drawl on Same As It Ever Was (a Talking Heads reference, surely). The latter? If only Tricky had sung it, rather than one of his myriad guests. Throughout, Tricky creates a claustrophobic world full of stark bass lines, pop digressions and slinky Bristol moments; his duet with Francesca Belmonte, New Stole, is particularly moreish.

Pitchfork 51

On his 13th studio album, Tricky translates newfound contentment into songs that fail to live up to the risk-taking example of his early work.