The Tricky Kid Grows Up

As part of the Bristol collective that designed what we call “trip-hop”, Tricky carved out a name for himself by layering dark, atmospheric soundscapes with raspy, haunting vocals. He felt almost like a hip-hop Vincent Price leading you on a journey through a trip-hop haunted house. Tricky’s newest creation, Vulnerable, is not quite like his previous efforts (most notably his groundbreaking debut Maxinquaye) but still keeps the same ambience of a demented and ingenious mind hard at work.Tricky may be brilliant when he’s hard at work in the lab but one has to wonder what he was thinking when he decided to recreate XTC’s “Dear God.” Although the song is sad in itself, Tricky doesn’t seem to do any justice (and quite frankly not any harm either) to the song. It’s almost as if he was singing along to the song while driving and happened to record it in the process. The album’s angriest song is quite possibly it’s strongest. “How High” delivers a raw and industrial sound that hints at another brilliant – and darker – creation: Nine Inch Nails’ The Downward Spiral. Tricky’s newest creation could be a step in the right direction for this gifted musician but judging from Vulnerable’s many weaknesses, he’s going to have to try a lot harder.