Anyone that knows me will immediately see how these 2 release might be of importance to me.
Well, it is only partly so.
I am a huge admirer of the "Tricky with Martina" era, from MAXINQUAYE to ANGEL WITH DIRTY FACES, all records were brilliant albums shining dark geniousness all over.
Then Tricky went his way and I can't say I've ever been really satisfied of what was issued after that. Martina went solo and she launched the new hope on her debut album "Quixotic".
To be honest, I liked Quixotic but thought it a little irritating, maybe too clean? It's hard to explain, it kind of lacked guts or inspiration. Tricky had added some production to a few songs but nothing was really "up there" anyway.
Having been disapointed with Tricky so many times and not having been very enthusiastic at the results of Martina's Quixotic, I was even wondering if I would buy their respective latest albums.
Well, as you probably guessed, I did.
First I'll go with some good news:
Martina's "The Blue God" is a great album!
Not great as ground breaking and revolutionnary but great as : it' s a hell of pleasure to listen to.
Produced by Danger Mouse, it's pretty neat and melts various elements from all kind of musical styles. The voice is superb and she sure feels happy to sing...
There is a contaminous groove all over and you'll soon find yourself dancing all over the house, legs shaking, hip bouncing and head and shoulders surfing in a hawaian move over all the great beats of this album.
There is also a modern film noir atmosphere that sticks to the artwork and really makes you want to order another whisky even if giving away those few last coins means you can't afford coming home.
The cabaret is filled with coloured smoke and Martina is singing. She's shining.
Songs like "Carnies" and " Baby Blue" make you wonder if Tarantino is DJing in your living room and you may even end up scanning the credits to check for his name. Don't bother, he's not there.
I won't go into a song by song review but they sure go well together, they have a real harmony and the album flows smoothly and brings some flowers into your headphones. Some songs may seem a little short and end a tad bit abruptly but they are all just rich enough to provide you with ample pleasure and let you go through time on those multi generational melodies.
So, that's a big thank you to Martina, Musical happiness is rare those days and I am really happy with that buy. Martina is back and she's here to stay!!
Martina Topley-Bird : THE BLUE GOD, Independiente Records, 2008.
Tricky's KNOWLE WEST BOY review will be up soon.
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