Tricky Dilemma's debut release, “The Howling Necessity” was conceptualized by Bruce Mack as an exploration in addressing human desire and 'calling out' when in need, using aural landscapes to describe the human condition as the 13th century Persian poet/philosopher Rumi did with words.
Mack is expressing experience without words or melodies, by playing freely, responding to his mood changes and the effects of those changes on his and the playing of fellows Thomas Murray and Marvin Sewell (who obviously have their own demons to expel).
With instruments being used like neurological telegraph writers, The Howling Necessity is an emotionally honest body of work featuring 9 tracks that were improvised and recorded live using a combination of acoustic, electric and exotic instruments such as Udo drum and Greek Bouzouki.
The Howling Necessity represents Mack's metamorphosis from the days of his punk-funk-r &b-rock bands PBR StreetGang and Rebels Be Phuncky.
“a marvelous blend of spacey, exotic, cosmic, funky, psyche, jazz, rock. I dig the layers of guitars. When the sampler and guitar(s) explodes on Swagger's Milk, the layers of mutating textures erupt with kaleidoscopic swirling patterns”
- Downtown Music Gallery, New York, NY - January 2004
“New York's Tricky Dilemma offers up a nice little batch of elastic, guitar and synth groovers on Trugroid Records, home to the Burnt Sugar collective. TD features Marvin Sewill on lead, rhythm and Greek Bouzouki guitars, Muata25 (Thomas Murray) on some of the trippiest, most ambient guitar work you're likely to hear and Bruce Mack on synthesizers, drum machines and electronic percussion. This is very much in the experimental, post Tortoise and Nobukazu Takemura schools of avant music production, but the fact that the group takes a fairly streamlined, pronounced three piece approach makes for a pretty tight listen!”
- Dusty Groove.com
“...rewarding and satisfying tracks include Exorcism Through Journey, propelled by Mack's Udu drumming and Sewell's Bouzouki guitar, or Bismillah, which develops a fractured ethereality”
- The Wire, March 2004
“ The very last thing that I would expect from someone who is the former President of the Black Rock Coalition would be an album of 'electronica'. However the CD is kinda' 'Sun Ra-ish' and is growing on me!”
- Bob Davis, Soul-Patrol.com - February 2004
