After a five year falling off the face of the earth period, Tricky, who at one point in the mid-90's was hailed as one of the pioneers of the Trip-Hop movement has finally returned with Knowle West Boy, an album that is finally and very surprisingly not a giant disappointment.

For those not in the know, Tricky's 1995 album Maxinquaye is critically regarded as one of the seminal albums of the 90's. His blending of Electronica and Hip-Hop fused together with multiple female guest vocalists (none better than the always re-occurring Martina Topley-Bird) was seen as a trailblazing one of a kind. It's unfortunate however that Tricky has never been able to even come close to how great that album was. After 2003's awful Vulnerable record I had all but written him off. How great it is then to receive a gift as wonderful as Knowle West Boy, a breath of fresh air that finds Tricky finally at peace with his past and not trying to be anyone but himself. With former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in the producers chair (and who also produced that killer Duffy record a few months back) Tricky pulls out all the stops to these proceedings. Unknown female vocalists rile Tricky up throughout, none better than on the catchy as hell opener "Puppy Toy." His sly cover of Kylie Minogue's "Slow" isn't to be missed either. But it's tracks like the slow burning near perfect "Past Mistake" that will have past fans ready to fall in love with Tricky all over again. With Portishead and now Tricky both releasing great albums this year someone should definitely check with Massive Attack and see if we can get a new album from them to make a perfect 2008 Trip-Hop trifecta.