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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A cool album, distinctively Massive Attack,, 2 Mar 2003
I too was expecting this album to have evolved in the same way as Mezzanine did, and was a bit disappointed to see that it hadn't. But does that make it a bad album? Of course it doesn't. Anyway it is different from Mezzanine, though the mood of the album (quite dark) is similar, and What Your Soul Sings sounds a bit like Teardrop (the beat). I would also have liked to see more diversity on the album, it seems Massive Attack have been afraid to experiment (and they did have plenty of time to try).
Bat that's the worst I can say about this album. I liked it from the start and, after two weeks continuous listening, it's growing on me more and more. This is very much distinctively Massive Attack and, if you're a fan, is a must buy. If you like the Mezzanine sound you will probably like 100th Window.
It should be said that there are no songs on this album to match the greats on Mezzanine (Teardrop, Black Milk, Mezzanine and Group Four) but, and this is the important thing, there are no bad tracks on the album. And how many times can you say that about an album? The tracks are bassy throughout with some excellent beats. I'm surprised at the stick Sinead O'Connor is getting because her voice compliments the Massive Attack sound brilliantly. All tracks on this album average about four stars, whereas I think Mezzanine has a few fives and several (skipable) threes.
OK, it would be nice to have the likes Daddy G and Shara Nelson (to retain that soul that people have said is missing - fair enough) but the band have moved on and Del Naja's vocals are good enough. The two Horace Andy tracks are mellow and at first I wasn't that keen but they provide a nice contrast to the rest of the album, Name Taken is an especially cool chill-out track.
The tracks that stand out for me are Future Proof, a great tune to kick off the album with, the dark but moving and goosebump-inducing Special Cases, and Butterfly Caught, the heaviest track with a bit of a techno sound. The others aren't far behind.
This is dark music, but it is not depressing, as someone has said. People who say music like this (and Radiohead's music) is depressing don't understand or appreciate this type of music and should be listening to something completely different.
You'll need a good system to fully appreciate this sound, and if you've got speakers that have a tendency to vibrate with lots of bass, you might want to get those sorted out.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
(Del) Naja... Than Life!, 25 April 2003
Mezzanine was phenomenal. One of the finest records ever written, produced and released. Only an hyper-optimist would expect Massive Attack (minus one-member and one on sabbatical) to come back with an album just as good. But it's been five years and Robert Del Naja has had time to become inspired and capture the complex arrangement of moods and emotion that gripped Mezzanine.So what's the result? How does 100th Window do? Hey, it's not bad. There's nine tracks and a ten minute or so peice of abstract untitled music at the end, which is a nice thoughtful gesture by 3-D. However, pleasant enough as it is, the abstract music doesn't really get beyond soundng more than a Fluke/Underworld demo but it's the thought that counts. Sinead O'Conner appears a few times and although technically she does well, her voice lacks that transcendental and spine-chilling feel that you had with Liz Frazer on Mezzanine. Besides, you can't help but think of Pope-bashing and political warblings when listening to the Sinead tracks (e.g. A Prayer for England and Special Cases) and it was politics that was so pleasantly missing on Mezzanine. Yet with Massive Attack, you're guaranteed a few genuine gems and you find them in Small Time Shot Away and Everywhen. The vocals on both tracks (courtesy of 3-D himself and Andy Horace respectively) are soothing and float wonderfully on bed of sexy basslines and slow-burning beats. Butterfly Caught is hypnotic in the traditonal Massive Attack way whilst Antistar - the last track - is more darker but in no way as scary and paranoid as Group Four on Mezzanine. A slight shame. Name Taken (track eight) sounds very much like a Protection track and is the only real disappointment. On the whole, don't expect Mezzanine standards but there's ample evidence of genius on here and there will be plenty of occasions when vocals, lyrics, beats and riffs will both haunt and please you. Defintely worth buying and listening to again and again...
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34 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
heavy chillout: pink floyd for the digital generation, 3 Feb 2003
The pattern is familiar: great new album every four years or so - always sounding different - great overall esthetic, crystal clear sound, strong graphics - an aura of mystery, of being untouchable. Pink Floyd did the same in the seventies (roughly form 'Atom heart mother' to 'the Wall'), but no-one else in the world today seems capable of providing such 'important-sounding' albums as Massive Attack. Shifting gears (as opposed to settling for cruise control) is a risky game, and for the fourth time Massive plays it for all it's worth: the result may be uneven, but for once the term 'artistic integrity' does not seem out of place.Still, fans of past Bristol-borne masterpieces such as 'Blue lines' and 'Protection' may be in for some disappointment. Gone - apparently due to artistic differences and ego clashes among the original lineup - is all the 'blackness' that served those albums so well in terms of warmth, soulfulness, even funkyness. This one has very strong moments, but it's also a bit cold in places. it is largely Robert Del Naja -aka 3D- 's work: he used to be the only white guy in the outfit - now he _is_ Massive Attack. (Mushroom split and DaddyG apparently hasn't actively taken part in the making of this album) Not that this need be bad news: in fact DelNaja has always had much of the creative control, some of the more amazing ideas and a really strong sense for Massive's trademark textures and soundscapes. You can really space out on this one, listen in the dark and enter another dimension - through your headset. Habitué Horace Andy and "newcomer" Sinead O'Connor deliver the vocal goods, 3D himself providing his tried-and-true cavernous murmurs. Powerful yet subtle mid-tempos prevail, with a certain gloomy, ponderous overall feel. A bit like 'mezzanine', minus the guitars, samples and sharp edges, plus a big big bag of unheard-of digital tricks. call it "post-millennium tension". Call it "heavy chill-out".
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