Tricky / False Idols - Adrian Thaws (2LP) [!K7]

Format: 2x12" in gatefold sleeve.
CAT: K7317LPC

"Calling it Adrian Thaws is saying that you don't really know me," Tricky explains about the title of his eleventh album. "A lot of times people have tried to pigeonhole me, and with every album I go to a different place."

It's typical of one of music's most unpredictable characters that the first album to bear his birth name is, paradoxically, one of the least introspective. Adrian Thaws is a vibrant, striking collection of songs ranging from hip hop to house, jazz to blues, rock to reggae. Recorded in his home studio in London—where he has returned to live after almost two decades in New York, Los Angeles, and Paris—the album features an international cast of collaborators: Francesca Belmonte, Nneka, Mykki Blanco, Bella Gotti, Tirzah, Blue Daisy, and Oh Land. It's made to be played loud.

"I guess this is my club/hip hop album," he comments. "I've only heard my music a few times in a club, but I grew up in them from the age of 14: blues parties, hip hop clubs, some raves. I'm not known for making club music, but this album has some tracks for the floor—well, what I would consider club music."