Artist Tricky

Trip-hop mastermind Tricky has wandered far afield from trip-hop over the years, but then again, what was trip-hop exactly? Certainly it has a distinctive sound, but it worked better as a sort of mindset than a style, per se. Either way, Tricky has kept on, with his raspy, haunting, whispery voice set against everything from reggae to rock. His 2008 album, Knowle West Boy, benefited from his five-year recording absence, as it was better-organized and more assertive than anything he’d done in years. The same can’t be said about the new Mixed Race, though, which contains obvious and lackluster loops that play like a dystopian round of karaoke. Still, its sensibilities are reminiscent of his breakout,Maxinquaye, so here’s hoping Tricky can figure out a way to bust into a twilight period.

Updated 12/02/2010