10 Perfect Trip-Hop Albums With No Bad Songs
6. Who Can You Trust? - Morcheeba (1996)
Morcheeba and Portishead are often unfairly compared to one another. You could argue that the incorporation prominent live instrumentals, and the utilisation of female vocalists, give both groups a similar sound. But this would only be a surface level analysis.
Skye Edwards' vocal delivery is starkly different to Beth Gibbons'. Whereas Gibbons imbues a haunting and desperate beauty into Portishead's sound, Edwards delivers her vocals with a richer and more soulful resonance.
Morcheeba's sound rests somewhere between lounge jazz, and soulful dub, with just a hint of psychedelia. Trigger Hippie, in particular, exhibits this powerful fusion. Driving bass, and surging samples, create a cinematic sound, that's smooth enough to set the scene in some underground jazz bar.
Post Houmous will immediately impart a swagger into your step. Get caught listening to this while you're walking down the street, and you'll be noted for your cocksure amble. Sadly, this number lasts less than two minutes. There's a number of shorter interludes throughout the album, and although you wish they were all longer, they serve to perfectly tie the record together.
There's an incredibly deep resonance to this body of songs; the heavy bass, seeps right down into your core. Providing you've got good headphones, you'll be existing in a world of smooth bass lines and sensual vocal.