I think I might be too young to like Massive Attack. I suppose I should put that out there first. Of course, with their style of music being what it is, I can't imagine many people the age it's intended for liking it either.
Their newest effort
Heligoland is bland, weird, and just sounds old. And techno isn't a genre that ages well. The creative duo behind Massive Attack are Grantley Marshall aka "Daddy G" and MC Robert Del Naja aka "3D" and they've been a band since 1988.
Heligoland is their first release in 7 years and I'm not really sure the break was a good thing.
It's funny though, because there are hints that Massive Attack knows what they're doing but either can't get the energy up to do it or just don't care enough to. The 58 minute long album sounds like porn groove circa 1998 (porn groove's changed a ton in ten years).
The album attempts to spice itself up with occasional guest vocals from various singers male and female but the only track that really nails it is "Paradise Circus" featuring vocals by Hope Sandoval. It's raspy, intriguing, and proves that Massive Attack can do better they just for some reason... didn't.
The only other track that stood out really was their first single "Splitting The Atom". It gets into a bit of a Ratatat mood for a few bits here and there, but ultimately under performs. -
Ryan Broderick
* * * * * * * * * * * *
MP3:"Paradise Circus" - Heligoland
Massive Attack on Myspace
