Ununiform

Ununiform
Studio album by
Tricky
Released22 September 2017 (2017-09-22)
RecordedBerlin, Germany
Length41:23
LabelFalse Idols
Tricky chronology
Skilled Mechanics
(2016) 		Ununiform
(2017) 		Fall to Pieces
(2020)

Ununiform[a] is the thirteenth studio album by English trip hop artist Tricky. It was released by False Idols on 22 September 2017.[2][3] Three singles were taken from this album, 'The Only Way', 'When We Die' and 'Running Wild', all of them released before the album.[4] And alternative version of 'The Only Way' was uploaded on Tricky personal Soundcloud account a few weeks after the original, and later released as a single in 2018, this version was also included in the physical releases of the album, but unlisted in the back cover. The album features a variety of guest vocalists, including Russian rappers, American vocalists, his usual collaborator Francesca Belmonte, and Tricky's frequent-collaborator and former girlfriend Martina Topley-Bird.[5][6]

Recording

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Tricky conceived the album while in Moscow, Russia; it consequently features vocal contributions from Russian rapper Smoky Mo.[1] The album was recorded in Berlin, Germany.[7] The album features a mixture of trip hop-inspired tracks as well as guitar-based tracks,[1] including a cover version of "Doll Parts" by Hole, featuring vocals from Los Angeles-based artist Avalon Lurks.[8] American hip hop artist Jay-Z co-engineered the album.[9]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.3/10[10]
Metacritic71/100[11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Exclaim!5/10[12]
The Irish Times[13]
Mojo[14]
The Observer[15]
Pitchfork5.1/10[1]
PopMatters6/10[16]
Q[17]
Rolling Stone Russia[18]
Uncut[19]

Ununiform received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on 12 reviews.[11] Kitty Empire of The Observer gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, stating that "Tricky creates a claustrophobic world full of stark bass lines, pop digressions and slinky Bristol moments; his duet with Francesca Belmonte, New Stole, is particularly moreish."[15] Ben Cardew of Pitchfork gave the album 5.1 out of 10 stars, summarising: "ununiform may come nowhere near to the jaw-dropping impact of those early Tricky albums. But buried deep in his 13th studio release, Tricky may just have sown the seeds of a new musical contentment."[1] The album was compared to Serge Gainsbourg's Histoire de Melody Nelson (1971) and The xx's Coexist (2012).[20]

Track listing

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All tracks are written by Tricky, unless noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Obia Intro" 1:56
2."Same as It Ever Was" (featuring Scriptonite) 3:46
3."New Stole" (featuring Francesca Belmonte) 3:06
4."Wait for Signal" (featuring Asia Argento) 3:08
5."It's Your Day" (featuring Scriptonite) 2:03
6."Blood of My Blood" (featuring Scriptonite) 3:13
7."Dark Days" (featuring Mina Rose) 2:49
8."The Only Way" 4:51
9."Armor" (featuring Terra Lopez) 2:25
10."Doll" (featuring Avalon Lurks[1])Courtney Love3:06
11."Bang Boogie" (featuring Smoky Mo and Scriptonite) 1:18
12."Running Wild" (featuring Mina Rose[2]) 3:37
13."When We Die" (featuring Martina Topley-Bird) 3:43
Total length:41:23
Physical edition bonus track
No.TitleLength
14."The Only Way" (Stripped Down Tricky Mix)4:07

Note

  • 1 ^ "Doll" is a cover of "Doll Parts" by Hole.[1]
  • 2 ^ "Running Wild" was also co-written by Mina Rose.[21]
  • 3 ^ "New Stole" is a reworked version of Francesca Belmonte song Stole from her debut album Anima.

Personnel

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Charts

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Chart (2017) Peak
position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 114
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 52
French Albums (SNEP)[24] 74
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[25] 47

Notes

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  1. ^ Pitchfork stylises the title with a lowercase "u", as does Tricky's official Facebook page.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Cardew, Ben (20 September 2017). "Tricky: ununiform". Pitchfork. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  2. ^ ""Ununiform" by Tricky". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  3. ^ "Tricky - Ununiform review: Don't be tricked into complacency". Irish Times. 21 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  4. ^ Roberts, Christopher. "Tricky Announces New Album, Shares "When We Die" (feat. Martina Topley-Bird) | Under the Radar - Music Magazine". Undertheradarmag.com. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  5. ^ AFP. "Tricky goes clean and gets darker » Manila Bulletin Entertainment". Entertainment.mb.com.ph. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Tricky - Ununiform | BeatRoute Magazine". Beatroute.ca. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  7. ^ Arcand, Rob (22 September 2017). "Stream Tricky's New Album ununiform". Spin. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  8. ^ Kaye, Ben (12 July 2017). "Tricky announces new album, ununiform, shares "When We Die" feat. Martina Topley-Bird: Stream". Consequences of Sound. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  9. ^ a b c "Ununiform - Tricky - Credits". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  10. ^ "ununiform by Tricky reviews". Any Decent Music. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  11. ^ a b "ununiform by Tricky Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  12. ^ Sylvester, Daniel (20 September 2017). "Tricky Ununiform". Exclaim!. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  13. ^ Bruton, Louise (21 September 2017). "Tricky - Ununiform review: Don't be tricked into complacency". The Irish Times. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  14. ^ Anon. (October 2017). "Review". Mojo. p. 94.
  15. ^ a b Empire, Kitty (24 September 2017). "Tricky: Ununiform review – stark and slinky". The Observer. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
  16. ^ Schiller, Mike (4 October 2017). "Tricky: ununiform". PopMatters. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  17. ^ Anon. (October 2017). "Review". Q. p. 104.
  18. ^ Даль, Борис (2 October 2017). "Tricky — "Ununiform"". Rolling Stone Russia (in Russian). Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  19. ^ Anon. (November 2017). "Review". Mojo. p. 36.
  20. ^ Sawatzki, Frank (21 September 2017). "Review: Tricky - Ununiform". Musikexpress. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  21. ^ "ununiform / Tricky TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Tricky – Ununiform" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Tricky – Ununiform" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
  24. ^ "Lescharts.com – Tricky – Ununiform". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 October 2017.
  25. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Tricky – Ununiform". Hung Medien. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
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