Tricky - "Pre-Millennium Tension"

I don't know if it's the holidays that do it to me, or if it's just something that happens with my brain chemistry relating to the time of year. Perhaps it's the New Year encroaching, forcing me to acknowledge my own mortality by taking stock of the deaths of people who held some significance to me over the course of the past 12 months--in 2006, we lost (among others) Syd Barrett, Kirby Puckett, Don Knotts, Gerald Ford, James Brown, Coretta Scott King, Steve Irwin, Peter Boyle, Robert Altman, Bruno Kirby, Arthur Lee, Desmond Dekker, Ali Farka Toure. Or maybe this mood has something to do with having spent another December in the retail industry, observing the celebration of capitalism's birth in a manger.It very likely has something to do with my re-reading Alien Agenda by Jim Marrs. Whatever the case may be, I always seem to come back to certain albums as this mood of impending gloom sets in. One of those records is Tricky's Pre-Millennium Tension.

Trip-hop has been one of my great musical loves since the late 90's, when Tricky left Massive Attack and released his solo debut, Maxinquaye. The acquisition and subsequent enjoyment of that album drove me to look into other works in the genre, and I can say that I've enjoyed most of what I've found. The aforementioned Massive Attack, Portishead, DJ Shadow, et al have all released records I hold very near and dear. I think what I like about the form is that it combines the rhythmic elements I enjoy in hip-hop with the sonic palette and song structure of rock, all at a drugged-out relaxed pace that lets you process things as they happen. Or not--sometimes that hazy sound and lolloping beat can add an air of mystery and heavy weirdness. I like that too.

As far as trip-hop MC's go, though, Tricky is second to none. The guy's been through the ringer in terms of his personal life, and his early work reflects that without seeming to seek out pity. It seems he's all too aware of the dark side of existence and while it drags him down, he's not expressing those sentiments in order to make you think, "Aww, poor guy." Instead, he turns those ideas on their side and cloaks himself in that darkness, manifesting a dread and menace that applies to the global situation at large at any given moment. He's a victim and a killer and he's unrepentant about being either, but he's been driven to it and wishes it didn't have to be that way. Maybe things can change for the better, eventually. On PMT, though, there's no indication that the artist knows any more than the audience does.

Anyway, the production on this album is brilliant. It fractures the usual downbeat rhythms, using off-kilter drum loops and fuzzed-out guitars to create a wall of noise that stretches the tension to the breaking point. This is so much darker than even the darkest, most lugubrious mainstream American hip-hop that I'm both unsurprised and completely surprised that Tricky never caught on with US audiences. Plus that, Martina Topley-Bird's vocals are mesmerizingly pretty, bringing an emotional balance to the pathos and dramatic tragedy of the lyrics.

So here's to an immersion and emergence from dark days. May your New Year's Day festivities be all that you want them to be.

Tricky - Pre-Millennium Tension - 02 - Christiansands

Tricky - Pre-Millennium Tension - 04 - Bad Dream