Tricky
Knowle West Boy is the album that sums up everything that Tricky has accomplished since his 1995 Maxinquaye debut. From the sardonic bar-room blues of Puppy Toy to the haunting quasi-classicism of Joseph; from the twisted Specials-worshipping punk of Council Estate to the bereft torchery of Past Mistake; from the Roxy Music’s The Bogus Man-at-the-dancehall art-stomp of Bacative to the poignant autobiographical tale of teen pregnancy that is School Gates, Knowle West Boy sees our misunderstood hero reaching into the post-punk, Two-Tone, reggae, hip hop and pure pop he grew up adoring, twisting it all into surreal Tricky shapes using his astonishingly accomplished band and a host of great undiscovered singers, and ending up with the most varied and accessible set of his career.
