Dummy (1994)

Dummy defined the dark, smoke-filled contours of Bristol trip-hop by treating vinyl crackle, spy-film samples and mournful jazz chords as essential instruments. Sour Times captures the record's claustrophobic splendour, pairing Geoff Barrow's dusty turntable loops with Beth Gibbons's tremulous, haunted vocal performance. The result is an uncompromising sonic territory that feels at once antique and startlingly modern.