TRICKY
Different When It’s Silent (False Idols)
Tricky, aka Adrian Thaws, returns with an absolute emotional bruiser of an album that could arguably be his finest – yep, even surpassing Maxinquaye, his 1995 debut. Different When It’s Silent is a brooding and emotive beast with a propulsive, cinematic postpunk edge; originally planned for release as a side project, manager Alan McGee persuaded Thaws to release it as a Tricky album due to the high quality of the tracks.
Soulful singer Mitch Sanders features vocally throughout, duelling with Tricky along with mainstay Marta Złakowska. I’m Yours and Paris Maybe summon some Cure-style darkness, and Out Of Place has a heartbreaking openness – but, also, a foreboding presence similar to what Tricky bared on his Pre-Millennium Tension album. As a whole, Different When It’s Silent places Tricky at the same table as pioneering outsiders from John Cale to Trent Reznor to Barry Adamson.
words DAVID NOBAKHT
