When first we heard from the UK duo Olive, producer/instrumentalist Tim

Kellett and singer Ruth-Ann were in the company of all the "M"s:

Morcheeba, Massive Attack, Mono and the like. Trip-hop was busy turning

into trip-pop and Olive trumped all comers by taking the effortlessly

catchy "You're Not Alone" into the American top 40. Their live act

proved all fluff and no substance, but the debut album, Extra

Virgin, was impressive, with each track cleverly inverting the

conventional songwriting process by sounding as if it had been given a

dub mix on its way from recording to editing.

Now Olive return, once again in the company of "M"s — namely

Madonna and her label, Maverick Records, as suitable a home for

"adult-oriented electronica" as could be desired. And as is becoming the Maverick style (check the Solar Twins' "Rock the Casbah" and Madonna's own take on "American Pie"), Trickle features a "poptronica" cover version we're expected to salivate over. Unfortunately, Olive's lightweight drum & bass take on 10cc's "I'm Not In Love" (RealAudio excerpt) is seriously at odds with the down-tempo vibe that permeates the rest of Trickle (not to mention that the song was handled much better recently by Fun Lovin' Criminals). The two rules of cover versions should be: 1. Find your own, and 2. Confine them to B-sides, live shows or soundtracks (especially as Olive's "I'm Not In Love" has already been featured alongside "American Pie" on The Next Best Thing soundtrack).

That anomaly aside, Trickle is a classy album, an affair that's

far more grandiose than Extra Virgin. Kellett's ongoing attempt

to construct the perfect trip-hop ballad leads him into deliberately

dramatic chord changes and epic string accompaniments on "Liberty" and

"Push." Ruth-Ann's glacially angelic voice sails sweetly across such

arrangements, waxing mellow, melancholy and mournful — especially

on "Love Affair" (RealAudio excerpt), "All You Ever Needed" and the title track (RealAudio excerpt). In small doses it's wonderful stuff, though in total it's a little sickly sweet. Indeed, the sugarcoated production, slow-as-molasses beats and dark melodies suggest the album could well have been called Treacle and probably no one would have objected.

Each of Trickle's songs tells a short story. "Speak To Me"

concerns a lover's failure to communicate ("But nothing said/ My lips

unread/ I'll try something new/ Open up to you"). "Love Affair" concerns a husband who allows his young wife an extramarital tryst, and "Push" details the need to break free ("Will you leave before the dawn/ Will I push or do you fall?"). Other titles include "Trust You," "Indulge Me" and "Speak to Me." You get the picture. All told, this is a perfect coffee-table album for any formerly club-going 30-something couple with a rocky relationship. There are enough of them around to buy Trickle by the truckload.