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Skilled Mechanics Image
Metascore
68

Generally favorable reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

  • Summary: The debut release for Tricky's side project features guest appearances from Francesca Belmonte, Ivy, DJ Milo, Oh Land, and Xdare.
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  • Record Label: False Idols
  • Genre(s): Electronic, Rap, Trip-Hop, Electronica, Pop/Rock, Indie Electronic, Post-Rock
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 9
  2. Negative: 0 out of 9
  1. 85
    Twenty one years since his Mercury Prize nominated debut solo album Maxinquaye emerged, Tricky may have finally delivered one that can stand proudly equal alongside it.
  2. Jan 27, 2016
    80
    The whole thing comes off as an imaginary Tricky radio station where the DJ plays his own stuff and mixes himself into other artist's tracks, so if alternate views and unclassifiable collections are desired, Skilled Mechanics isn't a lark or a side project but a necessity.
  3. Feb 16, 2016
    80
    Skilled Mechanics is an intelligent, pertinent piece of work that shows just how fresh the ideas of Thaws remain.
  4. Jan 27, 2016
    60
    Despite these mis-hits, Skilled Mechanics seethes with low-level, lo-fi menace, its spare instrumentation creating an unsettling queasiness that will have been familiar to Tricky’s admirers since 1995’s Maxinquaye.
  5. Q Magazine
    Feb 4, 2016
    60
    The most successful tracks are those where Tricky is front and centre. [Mar 2016, p.117]
  6. Uncut
    Jan 29, 2016
    60
    The seething mood is familiar but the cursory electro beats offer little of the grimy richness of primetime Tricky. [Mar 2016, p.81]
  7. Feb 1, 2016
    40
    While it isn’t without its moments, that is not enough to forgive the sub-standard R’&’B and lumpy rock crossovers.

See all 9 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Feb 2, 2016
    4
    Despite having some similarities in atmosphere to Tricky's magnum opus Maxinquaye, Skilled Mechanics lacks absolutely everything else thatDespite having some similarities in atmosphere to Tricky's magnum opus Maxinquaye, Skilled Mechanics lacks absolutely everything else that made that album one of my favorites of all time. The beats are sparse and unimaginative and sound like the same basic Garageband loop run over and over again. Tricky's deep vocals, typically an important piece of his sound, are completely uninspired here. He sounds almost as bored as I am when I listen to this record. Not every track here is a complete misstep - in general, the tracks featuring other artists bring enough variety to be mildly entertaining, but it isn't enough to save the record.

    41/100
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