Personnel includes: Tricky, Martina, PJ Harvey (vocals); Marc Ribot (guitar).
It's hard to label this unique artist. This album reflects his roots and influences in hip-hop, Gospel, dub and rock without the extensive use of samples. In line with his development as an artist, Tricky is concentrating on working with musicians instead of loops. "Money Greedy" is a fast-paced, industrial-sounding track with laid-back, eerie vocals. "Broken Homes," features the unmistakable vocal style of PJ Harvey alongside Tricky. The songs on the album vary dramatically in terms of style, tempo and texture. From trip-hop to drum-and-bass, Tricky is truly one of the most talented artists, whose unique vision pushes the envelope of creativity time after time. Others songs worthy of note are "6 Minutes," "Mellow," with it's moody, dark arrangement and "Singing the Blues," with Martina on vocals.
What the critics say...
Spin (7/98, pp.119-121) - 8 (out of 10) - "...Rather than the lush digital soundscapes of MAXINQUAYE or the shimmering desolation of PRE-MILLENIUM TENSION, ANGELS resounds with cellos, tremolo guitars and bass clarinets, as well as the usual electo-wheezes and shuddering bass loops...."
Entertainment Weekly (6/5/98, p.81) - "...ANGELS retains the same woozy, hypnotic trance of his earlier work....But the record also feels more adventurous, rhythmically and musically, than its predecessors....It's his mix of the quiet and the disquieting, a balance he's again preserved on this alluring sonic blur." - Rating: A
Vibe (6-7/98, p.166) - "...a flat-out blues album that, with a sound as modern as the most advanced hip hop, succeeds in consolidating his position as a music maverick..."
The Source (7/98, p.168) - "...[Tricky] adds another chapter to his strange, post-modern blues trip with the spellbinding ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES....The music twists into horrific rhythmic and musical patterns unlike anything your ears have experienced..."
