It’s very rare to find a trip hop album that pushes the boundaries of the genre, but Pre-Millennium Tension is one of them. The production is damp—and I mean damp. Some of the thickest beats I’ve ever heard, strange off-kilter instrumentation, and surreal imagery (though not atypical for trip hop). Almost unbearably thick production. Pre-Millennium Tension predicts the apocalypse, but Tricky is too cool to care. What an asshole.

It’s pretty inconsistent, though. The first half has way more hooks than the latter, which holds me back from loving it. “Christiansands,” “She Makes Me Wanna Die,” and “Bad Dreams” are all excellent. I prefer it over Maxinquaye, to be honest. This is much more memorable to me. Pre-Millennium Tension is a bad trip in sonic form.