NEARLY GOD
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Nearly God is a vaguely defined side project of Tricky with an eponymous album featuring help from a slew of oddball British pop singers–Bjork (by way of Iceland, natch), Terry Hall, Alison Moyet, Neneh Cherry, and Cath Coffey (Stereo MC’s). The album–currently available only as a pricey import but planned for a U.S. release after all of its samples are cleared–is considerably more murky and moody than Tricky’s landmark 1995 debut, Maxinquaye, but it still suggests many of the band’s characteristic sounds: the trippy rhythm loops; dark, whispered voices; layers of ominous, unidentifiable textures; and a keen pop sensibility emerging from the nicely muffled din. Apparently recorded in only two and a half weeks, the record lacks the depth and range of Tricky’s debut, but within its ephemeral contours and funereal grooves Nearly God delivers a sensual evocation of slow decay. On this short U.S. tour the group will feature Tricky and the pretty-voiced Coffey. Tuesday, 9 PM, Double Door, 1572 N. Milwaukee; 489-3160. PETER MARGASAK
