Massive Attack - 100th Window

Finding a perfectly hallowed ground between Pink Floyd, Mad Professor and classic soul, Massive Attack have always had the extra burden of being true trailblazers. In their wake has come everything from the Mo’Wax record label to the "Bristol Invasion" of the mid-’90s (Portishead, Tricky). Their last album, the dark and subversive Mezzanine, however, was a black celebration, as the band — Daddy G, Mushroom and 3-D — fractured beyond repair making it. That brings us to 100th Window, with 3-D the last man standing. What he comes up with is epic, elaborate and well worthy of the sacred Massive Attack moniker. More a continuation of Mezzanine than anything else, the album calls on Sinead O’Connor to elevate songs like "What Your Soul Sings" to the holy pantheon of MA classics. While it’s hardly an overwhelming masterpiece like Blue Lines or Protection, it still stands head and shoulders above most everything else. The mood throughout is rather somber with dark, atmospheric electronic dubs instead of funky trip-hop ones, and the inclusion of orchestrated instruments provide a cinematic feel that really seems to shade the melodies, accenting them chillingly. But by no means does '100th Window' tread into ambient territory. With dark shades of dub and songs that stretch with patient grace, 100th Window finds trip-hop legends Massive Attack seeping through your speakers with the same eerie intensity they mined on 1998's revelatory Mezzanine. The burden of high expectations has been a constant for this band since they released the classic Blue Lines in 1991. Under pressure to produce yet another record that changes the playing field of dance music, the collective has turned in a brooding, orchestral work that profits greatly from collaboration. The breathy, distinctive voice of Sinead O'Connor elevates a song like "What Your Soul Sings" into a deeply affecting, candlelit nocturne, while Horace Andy's stylized vocal washes through the string-laden "Name Taken." O'Connor also shines on "A Prayer for England," a remake of "Safe from Harm" off Lines, as her barely contained emotions artfully collide with Window's stark, distorted production. It may not turn the world upside down again, but Massive Attack retains the power to keep you transfixed and blissfully off-balance.

Track list:

1. Future Proof 5:38
2. What Your Soul Sings 6:38
3. Everywhen 7:39
4. Special Cases 5:09
5. Butterfly Caught 7:34
6. A Prayer for England 5:48
7. Small Time Shot Away 7:59
8. Name Taken 7:49
9. Antistar 8:17