Sound Bets: Tricky, 'Council Estate'

I REALLY THOUGHT TRICKY had just evaporated with his old bongwater.

The blunted-out brilliance of his earlier records, such as "Maxinquaye" (1995) and "Pre-Millennium Tension," (1996) seemed to burn out with 2001's "Blowback," which had Yellin' Ed Kowalczyk from Live howling on a track — proof positive Tricky had lost his ways. And I'm not sure I listened to 2003's "Vulnerable" more than once, which means it was probably mediocre — or maybe I was tired of trip-hop, which had been so co-opted by advertising that what was once a brilliant turning inside-out of hip-hop had now become like so much sonic wallpaper.

But in the past two years, we've seen the fine return of Massive Attack with a tour and compilation — I spoke with the band for Express before its 1996 D.C. show — Portishead with a new album and, in July, Tricky, who is poised to release his new CD, "Knowle West Boy" (Domino).

It's like 1993-96 all over again.

Tricky's brief first single is "Council Estate," which, in song and video, is his autobiography. The chunky, distorted bass line sounds like something out of a Spiritualized psych-rock jam, and Tricky's energetic flow is louder that the throaty whisper he usually employs.

"Council Estate" isn't one of Tricky's greatest works, but it's the sound of someone who seems to have woken up from an artistic haze. "Remember, bwoy, you're a superstar!"

Below, the Tricky Kid talks about "Knowle West Boy":