REVIEW: Massive Attack - Heligoland

Massive Attack
Heligoland
Virgin Records
Out Now

1. "Pray for Rain" (vocals by Tunde Adebimpe) – 6:43
2. "Babel" (vocals by Martina Topley-Bird) – 5:18
3. "Splitting the Atom" (vocals by Grant Marshall, Horace Andy and Robert Del Naja) – 5:15
4. "Girl I Love You" (vocals by Horace Andy) – 5:26
5. "Psyche" (vocals by Martina Topley-Bird) – 3:23
6. "Flat of the Blade" (vocals by Guy Garvey) – 5:29
7. "Paradise Circus" (vocals by Hope Sandoval) – 4:58
8. "Rush Minute" (vocals by Robert Del Naja) – 4:48
9. "Saturday Come Slow" (vocals by Damon Albarn) – 3:42
10. "Atlas Air" (vocals by Robert Del Naja) – 7:47

Massive Attack have always imbued their music with a sense of dread. Through numerous stylistic shifts and varying approaches, their albums are unified in that they all feel like the product of a world about to collapse under the weight of it's own problems. Heligoland (their first full length release since 2003's '100th Window') is steely-eyed even by their standards.

What is most immediately notable is the sparseness of it all. Gone are the lush arrangements of their mid 90s work, and instead the spotlight shifts to rhythm and vocal.

Fortunately the group have always chosen their collaborators wisely, and TV On The Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, Horace Andy and Martina Topley-Bird all turn in suitably focussed, understated performances on the earlier tracks.

However, taken in combination, these minimalist choices (along with the bleak, dystopian subject matter) result in a rather alienating listening experience with little to return to.

It is only in the later tracks, beginning with 'Paradise Circus', and a beautiful and hypnotic performance from Hope Sandoval that the darkness is finally tempered with warmth and an emotional core.

Likewise, Damon Albarn turns in a surprisingly affecting vocal on 'Saturday Come Slow'. It is no coincidence that these are the album's stand-out tracks, or that this balance between unsettling grit and resilient hope has provided the group's most enduring songs throughout their career.

It is a balance that is rarely struck on Heligoland, and consequently fans of Massive Attack's early work may find the first 25 minutes or so unrewarding.

Nonetheless, this is a worthy and challenging addition to the discography of one of England's most experimental and pioneering groups.

-Michael