Mission Accomplished EP

Difficult to pinpoint exactly when it started going wrong for Tricky. But if we're to hazard a guess, we'd say it was sometime immediately after his debut album 'Maxinquaye' in 1995, judging by the decreasingly relevant aural sludge he's deemed worthy of release ever since. This is his first outing on US hardcore imprint Epitaph and is optimistically described in its accompanying literature as a "rewarding listening experience". For those whose musical appetite is easily sated by muggy, narcotic hip-hop drivel, rancid free jazz and improvised paranoid wordplay, feast away. The rest of us can briefly ponder the sheer tragedy of the whole affair. Finally, a truly unlistenable Tricky record? That'll be 'Mission Accomplished'.

Piers Martin