Knowle West Boy (2008)

How does an artist return gracefully to the music biz, more than a decade after his prime and five years since his last, largely unheralded release? It's, well...tricky. An alt-culture hero in the '90s, the English trip-hopper born Adrian Thaws hasn't created a masterwork along the lines of 1994's Maxinquaye, but Knowle West Boy still offers a diverse evocation of his childhood (see ''Council Estate,'' ''School Gates'') in the poverty-riddled district of the title. His trademark gravel-gargle vocals suit the disc's spookier, dancier tracks (not so much on the outright rockers), and even — hello, dance floor! — a nearly unrecognizable cover of Kylie Minogue's ''Slow.'' B
DOWNLOAD THIS: Listen to ''Past Mistake'' and the rest of the album on the official site