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May 28, 2013Tricky seems to be doing some soul-searching--but the running time is long, and at least three quarters of the album is top-shelf.
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May 24, 2013False Idols comes close to vanquishing the spectre of ‘Maxinquaye’, comprising a fleshy and nasally return to form.
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May 28, 2013Ten albums in, the singer proves he still has the juice to keep things interesting, even if he ultimately falls short of his own headstrong expectations.
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May 24, 2013False Idols could have been impressive and believable at fewer than a dozen tracks, but nine of the 15 seem insufferably lazy.
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May 24, 2013On False Idols, Tricky steps forward with a renewed confidence, proving himself equal parts mentor and maestro.
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MojoJun 17, 2013Some 18 years after his astonishing debut album Maxinquaye, Tricky has come close to making Maxinquaye II. [Jul 2013, p.88]
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May 28, 2013False Idols confidently returns to a simpler, yet contemporary version of Tricky’s working formula.
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May 31, 2013Tricky might not have succeeded in bringing his old sound 100% back to life, but as an effort to hit the reset button and rediscover himself, this record's a better-than-expected surprise.
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May 29, 2013False Idols is a massive triumph musically. There is no filler, in many places it sounds timeless.
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Q MagazineJun 17, 2013False Idols might fall short of such heights [of his debut], but at least sounds like the same person made it to the studio. [Jul 2013, p.111]
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Jul 15, 2013False Idols is vintage Tricky, which means it could slot in at around 1997--the melodies are spare, the beats spacey, the vibe dark.
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May 31, 2013False Idols has the potential to be a more accessible and instantly enjoyable album than say, Maxinquaye, but because it's not as challenging to the experienced trip-hop fan, False Idols is also vulnerable of losing some its captivating allure.
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May 24, 2013Throughout, there's a fresh impetus to Tricky's musical muse that enables his dark imaginings to connect again with beautiful simplicity.
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May 31, 2013It’s the haunting, beat-driven atmospherics that ultimately make the songs memorable (or not), and throughout this new record the textured dynamics of these songs pulse with a clean, modern inventiveness, while also echoing the moody tones of his best work.
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May 28, 2013I'm Ready, on which that familiar sprechgesang delivery is somehow both metronomic and distended, is exemplary, but the whole record--dosed with menace --sounds hungry.
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The WireJun 5, 2013False Idols could be seen as a retreat to his comfort zone, a style he's already mastered, But the terrain he staked out during his days in The Wild Bunch, and later with Massive Attack, was far more fertile than many give it credit for, and its influence resonates through a spectrum of subsequent subgenres. [Jun 2013, p.55]
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UncutMay 24, 2013A return to a winning formula, if not an emphatic return to form. [Jun 2013, p.79]
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Jun 13, 2013The issue that plagues False Idols is that we only ever seem to hear the seed of each idea. Credit goes to Tricky for variety, but it would be a more rewarding experience if we were able to listen to the songs evolve and develop.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 16 out of 19
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Mixed: 2 out of 19
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Negative: 1 out of 19
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May 29, 2013
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Jul 6, 2013