After the group’s 2003 album 11th Window, some felt that Massive Attack had begun distancing themselves from their soulful, hip-hop roots. Seven years later, Grantley Marshall MC Robert Del Naja and Andrew Vowles have reunited for their fifth non-soundtrack studio album, Heligoland.
Songs like “Babel”, featuring Martina Topley-Bird, flit around with airy female vocals, and the sugary-sweet sounding instrumentation in “Paradise Circus” complement the much darker lyrics.
Overall, for an album that had been rumored to be released since 2004, I felt the whole thing was kind of “yawn.” They’re obviously not trying to break any new ground here, but Heligoland sounds like a gloomier version of TV on the Radio. Clearly being influenced by their range of collaborators, the album drips with the feel of melancholy 90s group Portishead as well. But, with so much similarity, it’s hard to not feel like the album features nothing that hasn’t been done before, albeit with a more synth-driven edge.
Massive Attack
Heligoland (Virgin Records)
**/*****
- “Pray for Rain”
- “Babel”
- “Splitting the Atom”
- “Girl I Love You”
- “Psyche”
- “Flat of the Blade”
- “Parade Circus”
- “Rush Minute”
- “Saturday Come Slow”
- Atlas Air”
