Mixed Race
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Critic Reviews
80
His influence is not what it was but this is the sound of a man still energetically ploughing a unique furrow.
10mo
80
Another smart and limber record. An astute choice of collaborators plays its part.
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1y
80
Yes its weighed down by some empty dancefloor tat, but it's probably the strongest record work Tricky has put out this decade; definitely much more of a comeback than Knowle West Boy was.
13y
80
With his latest album, Mixed Race, Tricky picks up where 2008's Knowle West Boy (named after his rough birthplace) left off, exploring his diverse background, sonic heritage and frequently unforgiving surroundings with sounds as much as words.
10y
70
Even if ‘Time To Dance’ doesn’t quite ignite the desire to boogie it – like the rest of Mixed Race – awakens something else you might not associate with Tricky: a burning interest to hear what he’ll do next.
13y
70
Perhaps surprisingly, Adrian Thaws' Tricky schtick has yet to get old, with the only missteps on this, his ninth, album arriving when he conforms to, rather than resists, convention. Where it's good however, it's superfly.
1y
70
Ultimately, Mixed Race, with its simmering tension, is a worthy follow-up to Knowle West Boy, and a fine entry in Tricky's catalog overall.
13y
70
There’s little reason to champion a release this minor, but the stubborn, misguided middle-schooler within says I should defend it anyhow.
15y
60
It's only on 'Ghetto Stars' when that ominous whisper comes to the fore, that Mixed Race excites, and a cascade of strings that don't so much make us yearn for past glories as wonder what Tricky thinks he has left to prove.
13y
60
Mixed Race doesn't always hang together, but it is the work of someone with a renewed creative appetite.
10y
60
Tricky has a frustrating tendency to lurk behind his collaborators, and one has to fight the feeling that ideas rarely gel.
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1y
60
Tricky flits between Daft Punk-lite, ethereal chain gang blues, Eastern ragas, lounge-ska-jazz and stoned-groove hip-hop so seamlessly that that in itself is a remarkable feat.
5y
60
There’s plenty of creative sparks in the old dog yet
10mo
58
While there are moments when his old jaggedness cuts through ... Mixed Race is long on half-digested detours.
15y
50
But what that album [Knowle West Boy] had in abundance--loud guitars, noisy electronics, new ideas--this comparatively minimal one lacks.
1y
50
Even if Mixed Race plays too much like its influences, there are the identifiable shudders and spookiness that go with the genre-bending multicultural-ness that defines Tricky.
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1y
50
It’s a Tricky album for beginners, a quick rundown of styles and themes that sheds some light on where he’s been and the potential he has.
15y
50
Mostly a failure, but with enough glimmers of a true comeback to tease fans into checking out the next one.
13y
40
Despite its ten songs clocking in at under 30 minutes, the handful of ideas in Mixed Race are spread thinly.
10mo
Tricky's ninth album and seventh solely attached to his name (gulp!) is also his one of his shortest - 29 minutes, no song above 4 minutes, and possibly the first time in this career you can definitely say that an album of his has no filler, but that doesn't mean "Mixed Race" is perfect, in fact it sounds pretty toothless, but at least it gets to the point quicker than an album like "Vulnerable" for example.
"Every Day" is a decent opener, decently ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | Every Day 2:25 | |
| 2 | UK Jamaican 2:44 | |
| 3 | Early Bird 3:30 | |
| 4 | Ghetto Stars 3:28 | |
| 5 | Hakim 2:44 | |
| 6 | Come to Me 3:55 | |
| 7 | Murder Weapon 2:59 | |
| 8 | Time to Dance 2:24 | |
| 9 | Really Real 2:47 | |
| 10 | Bristol to London 2:25 |
Total Length: 29 minutes
