Darkened rap, hazy tones and a countless number of subtleties featured, ununiform is the 13th record from British rapper/producer, Tricky. His complicated sound and eager endeavours with the unconventional make this an album which certainly lives up to its namesake.

We’re introduced to the record with ‘Obia Intro’ and are met with a croaked synth and the sinister yet oddly seductive nature of Tricky’s vocals, the raspiness of his voice really adds to the darkness and a smooth transition into a fully filled bassline morphs the track into far more of a groove that entices you to carry on listening. From here the album begins its countless number of twists and turns. ‘Same As It Ever Was’ continues the darkened electronica, but the prolonging of muffled vocals soon lose their deeper impact and become droll rather quickly. As a featuring verse from Scriptionite starts, there doesn't feel like an immense amount of synergy between the two vocal styles, perhaps not the track I’d choose to start the record’s motion.

The album continues its oddities, with each track holding an incredibly diverse amount of style and the numerous features from its guest artists, each bringing their own flare to the album, an appearance from Terra Lopez within ‘Armor’ making for one of the best. Terra’s unique style of vocal phasing is fantastic and the underlaying concoction of pulsing bass, synth and a raw drum beat all works brilliantly to the point where I have found myself almost wanting to listen to her material instead! Likewise ‘Doll’, featuring Avalon Lurks, makes for another delightful surprise on the record, the track features a heavy level of acoustics and far more subtle electronics but soon grows into a fulfilling climax of unique sound. At first the style feels somewhat out of place, but Avalon’s beautifully husky vocals are so enticing that they really are something you can sink into and make for a brilliant overall addition to the record. Both of these tracks are also clear indicators to the smoothness of Tricky’s production and a vivid demonstration of his talents behind the instrumentals.

With albums such as the new Gorillaz record also featuring a ludicrous amount of featured artists, it is easy to lose track of your sound when crafting collaboration albums. Tricky, however has certainly kept his own visible roots within each piece on the album, meaning there is a nice level of continuity to the overall sound. Simultaneously the sheer unpredictability of each song through the first few listens does make for a number of pleasant surprises, most of which hit their intended mark and make for a listen which dominantly remains engaging and fulfilling throughout.

The quality of female collaborations in particular are this album’s saving grace, almost all of the female artists on this record are exquisite and outshine everything else. Too many collaborations shy away from a dominating female presence and yet Tricky has included the perfect amount of the highest quality female artists around! Terra Lopez, Avalon Lurks and Mina Rose are all artists with a truly unique sound and are definitely not something you come across everyday.

Overall, ununiform is an album which does what it says on the tin. There are more than enough ‘unconventional’ decisions, most of which certainly add to the depth and intricacies behind the listen. I personally would have liked to ‘see’ more of Tricky’s own presence on the record, instead of hiding behind the instrumentals, in order to bring a more personalised feel to the record. Ununiform is an album that you can bring out for a chilled drizzly day to just watch the world go by and bathe in its many darkened sub themes. It is clear that Tricky is trying to open up a new chapter in his life, thus he has crafted another album that you’ll be able to simply melt into and enjoy just going along for the ride.

Ben Walker

Website: trickysite.com
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