From the annals of "Whatever happened to…" We bring you…

Remember 1995? Remember Maxinquaye — that ground-breaking, genre-defining trip-hop classic debut from Tricky? Remember Martina's haunting vocals on tracks like "Overcome," "Black Steel," and "Aftermath" and the next two Tricky albums? If not, please rectify before reading on…

That taken care of…

Almost nine years later, Tricky's former muse releases a debut album of her own, and (damn!!) it was worth the wait. Right from the opening introductory hat-tip to old-time blues and gospel, Martina Topley-Bird delivers a trip-hop, genre-defining album equal to or greater than anything else she has collaborated on in the past.

From the immediately gripping "Need One," Martina's distinctive and much-missed voice swaggers along with powerful beats and haunting lyrics that hold you in awe through every song. The album shifts effortlessly from rock influences ("Need One," "Too Tough to Die") to ballads ("Anything," "Stevie's") to soul/gospel ("Soul Food") to Billie Holliday-esque blues ("Lullaby") to folksy ("Lying") to mellow dance beats ("Sandpaper Kisses," "I Still Feel").

Perhaps being used to collaborating, several collaborative tracks with the likes of Mark Lanegan, David Holmes, David Arnold and Tricky himself are present. But rather than diminish, these add to the musical range Martina is able to cover on "Quixotic". Ultimately though, it's her plaintive voice and poignant lyrics that make this album truly wonderful: the likes of, "Lines you're feedin' me/Don't make a mark on me/I don't bruise so easily" ("Need one") and, "There's a fairytale you never learned to read or write/Oyster pearl/You never cared to look inside" ("Lullaby') are made to sound so sad, yet defiant at the same time. And in a final touch of humility, rather than the long list of name-drops so common these days in indie band liner note 'thank you's, Martina just thanks "friends and family" and then adds the words 'thank you' many times over, addressed simply to 'everyone".

P.S. Note to UK readers: the (once prestigious) Mercury Prize panel should be shot on site for not awarding the prize to 'Quixotic' this year.