Search - Massive Attack :: Heligoland

Difficult, but much more rewarding than it sounds at first.

Angry Mofo | 02/09/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Massive Attack albums are rarely immediate. Same with Heligoland: at first, the synths at the beginning of "Splitting The Atom" and "Flat Of The Blade" sound off-key and simplistic. I heard the three-note lead in "Paradise Circus" and wondered how on earth that simple sound could sustain a five-minute song.



But when I listened to "Paradise Circus" a few times, my perception started to change. The clattering, echoing drum track combined with the lead to create an eerie atmosphere. Above all, the song has possibly the most intimate vocal performance of any Massive Attack song. Hope Sandoval's voice is scratchy, but the way you can hear every minute shift in her throat, together with the deliberately slow pace of the vocal, gives an impression of a wide-awake, intensely focused late-night rumination. It's a remarkably sexy song, but it also expresses uncomfortable qualms: the lyrics say that "the devil makes us sin," and that's exactly how the song sounds, like someone giving in to temptation, but feeling uneasy about possible divine repercussions.



The entire album is characterized by this subtle feeling, like constantly looking back over one's shoulder. Heligoland sounds softer and more electronic than, say, Mezzanine, without those overdriven guitars. But it also sounds much more swampy and dissonant (maybe "sullen" might be a good word to describe the tone of the drums in "Pray For Rain") than Protection. This makes it difficult to like the album on the first listen, but at some point, one starts to appreciate the spooky, off-kilter atmosphere. The haunted-house keyboards and strings are somewhat reminiscent of The Knife's Silent Shout, one of the best albums of the past decade.



And just when you think that the music sounds too simple, there's some kind of twist. Toward the end of "Paradise Circus," there is a break with soft strings, and after that, some dark, reverberating piano chords come in to very strong effect. The downtuned echo of the chimes opening "Pray For Rain" is both pretty and creepy. It is soon strangled by the overbearing drums; halfway through the song quiets down, then builds back up in a loud, dark drone, and then unexpectedly breaks into a more gentle-sounding plateau. Once you register everything that's going on, you see how original it is. The keyboard lead in "Splitting The Atom" eventually sinks into a dreamy ambient outro. Many songs don't end the way you expect them to.



"Girl I Love You" is also a lot more interesting than you might expect from the requisite Horace Andy song (especially one with such a generic title). It is similar to the classic "Angel," it's got the dub bass line, the reverb in the background, and the crashing, loud crescendo -- but, incredibly, it does all of those things better than "Angel." It's a lot more energetic, with a fast dance beat. Instead of the grinding guitars (which were powerful, but honestly a bit plodding), there is what sounds like a brass section in a haunted circus. And it also helps that Horace Andy turns in his best, smoothest Massive Attack vocal yet -- not bad for a guy who's pushing sixty!



Unexpectedly, "Atlas Air" is Massive Attack's most danceable song, with a bracing house beat and an awesome echoing, multi-layered keyboard hook. Even more unexpectedly, Robert Del Naja finally puts a new spin on his mumbling vocal style and sort of speak-sings to the rhythm. In the process, he gets backed by these amazing reverberating electronic chimes that contrast his voice perfectly and give it an ominous edge. Eventually, there's a blaring noise breakdown. This song should be a hit.



I should say that Heligoland moves very far from Massive Attack's hip-hop roots. Robert Del Naja only takes the lead on two songs, probably to compensate for hogging the limelight on 100th Window. Even then, he does no rapping, and instead prefers the restrained speak-singing style that I mentioned above. Grant Marshall gets one verse on "Splitting The Atom," but even there he sort of recites the words without really rapping per se. As if to underscore the departure from rap, Heligoland brings in a bunch of other male singers, including Damon Albarn, who gives a reliably good, plaintive vocal performance on "Saturday Comes Slow," which is good, but sounds a bit like a Blur ballad.



But then, we expect every Massive Attack album to be a departure, don't we? The originality of Heligoland is more subtle than, say, the difference between Mezzanine and Protection, and takes time to really sink in. However, though the sullen, stifling production and deceptively simple melodies may throw one off at first, they actually conceal surprising, multi-segmented song structures and pinprick-inducing atmosphere."

Only Time will give us a Better Understanding

Alexander Scott Wilhelm | 03/12/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm still trying to wrap my head around this album. This has somewhat turned into a Curveball or Changeup that, Now that I've figured out it's not what I orginally thought it was, I have time to recollect and wait on it.

Out of 10 songs, there are 6 that I immediately bite on. The other 4 are still up in the air (for me).



1.) The biggest thing I've noticed about Reviewers thus far, is the complete Lack of ANYTHING, Like or Dislike, for the #6 song "Flat On The Blade." For me, there's something very Awe-Inspiring and Powerful in the latter-half of the song once the Brass and Strings kick in along with the combination of the lyrics with Guy Garvey's voice. I think the lyrics here are the strongest of the Entire album, and at least for me, EPITOMIZE what Massive Attack means to me. Very straight-forward lyrics (that aren't that straight-forward once you really think about it) with very Confident (almost Cocky) delivery.

"I'm not good in a crowd - I've got Skills I can't speak of - Things I've seen will Chase me to the Grave - How does it feel? The weight of the Steel? The Flat of the Blade? How does it feel to Kneel in Defeat to the choices you've made?- Take it they give it, and Rivet for Rivet, I will Build for my Family a Bulletprooof Love."

I guess call me crazy, but those aren't lyrics that I can just TOSS to the side and be like "Ehh, dull, next song." Anybody who does that, is FAR more simplistic and simple-minded than they give themselves credit for. I've been thinking about these lyrics alone for 3 DAYS now.

I think the reason I like this song so much is because it feels VERY reminiscent of Radiohead's "Pyramid Song." The obvious highlight there is Thom Yorke's slowly elevating voice overtop the rest of the music until his voice is the biggest highlight of the song. EXACT same effect here with Guy Garvey's vocals... The song elevates to the point it gives me goosebumps and makes my hair stand up.

I guess I interpret the Lyrics so strongly because the First-half of "Flat of the Blade" gives off this Condemned feeling of being stuck in place; Cannot remove yourself from the situation you've been bred in to (i.e. How does it feel to Kneel in Defeat?)..... Then after the first 2min, the song elevates from this Hopeless feeling into an Iron-Willed Personal Strength that will not back down (i.e. Rivet for Rivet I will BUILD for my Family a BULLETPROOF Love). It's like we're listening to an EPIC story of "Zero to Hero" right before our eyes.

I cannot understand how so many people can straight-up Skip-over and Neglect a Lyrical TIDALWAVE that song has revealed itself as. You guys out there Jump-Ship way too quickly.



2.) I can already tell this is one of those Albums that needs 2 or 3 years of music to pop-up around it, so we can be like "OH Yeah, that's what Massive Attack was doing. That's the direction it was moving. Ok."

And odds are we'll (Once Again!) realize that Massive Attack was Farther ahead than we could give them credit for in 2010.



3.) I could always use more Rob Del Naja. He's got one of the sickest Lead Vocal deliveries out there. Jack of All Trades-type voice. So cool.

"

Mixed

ChefBum | Fremont,, CA United States | 02/26/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was looking forward to Massive Attack's latest release, coming a number of years after "1000th Window".



I've always enjoyed Massive Attack's music, right from "Blue Lines" and past "Mezzanine". The mix varies from record to record, with "Blue Lines" being very much hip-hop oriented, whereas "Mezzanine" is very dark and sounds almost like rock in some places. "Protection" is somewhere in between the two. Massive Attack always mixes it up, and sometimes are unclassifiable in terms of genre.



This latest review seems to be another sign of the times. I also have Portishead's latest "Third", and it appears that the two bands have been comparing notes. The latest albums from both reflect a similar aesthetic, with more sparse beats, particularly in the first few tracks of this release. However, I feel a bit manipulated, as though the track order is the band's deliberate way of setting up listeners for a new experience. Only later tracks on this release start to resemble what we have come to expect from this band.



Overall, it only works in parts. The first track, "Pray for Rain" is the best example of this new, sparse aesthetic. It's almost acapella. But as things get better deeper into the disc, it appears that Massive Attack has become more abashedly derivative. "Rush Minute" has EXACTLY the same opening drum line as Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi is Dead", but fails to do anywhere near as much with it as the song progresses. In fact, the entire song seems to be based on that classic drum line. It's not a *bad* song, but haven't you come to expect a bit more originality from these guys?



And in another song, I hear exactly the same simple, three-note dark chromatic minor chord progression that is used as the theme song to "28 Weeks Later".



The final two tracks, "Saturday Come Slow" and "Atlas Air" are the highlight of this disc. The former is also somewhat sparse, but with pleading, heartfelt lyrics and singing, and a surprising amount of soul for trip-hop. I've always felt that MA have always balanced the rapping and singing in their song selection very well, with the sung songs tending to be the stronger of the two. "Saturday Come Slow" is thankfully no exception. "Atlas Air" finally gives us that quintessential Massive Attack sound. It is built on a catchy melody that is layered upon in interesting ways. It is probably the only song on this record that upon hearing it, I knew right away that it was Massive Attack.



Overall, this is a much softer, gentler disc than "Mezzanine", and much less unabashedly hip-hoppy than "Blue Lines". I give MA credit for continuing to blur genre lines and attempting to break new musical ground, but unfortunately, "Heligoland" will not go down as being nearly influential as either of their two earlier, seminal efforts."