Massive Attack Heligoland

Heligoland is the long-awaited return of trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack, and it may well have been worth waiting for.

Seven years after their last studio album, Daddy G and 3D have reunited, and Massive Attack are a rejuvenated force that for much of the last decade had seemed to be spent.

Throughout the 1990’s Massive Attack were constantly evolving and challenging their own unique blend of roots, soul, dub and electronics. From their 1991 debut Blue Lines, to 1994’s masterpiece Protection, to 1998’s raging behemoth Mezzanine, they were constantly push boundaries only they could have the audacity to set.

Then 3D and Daddy G went there separate ways. And while 2003’s release 100^th Window, expertly highlighted the skills employed by Robert “3D” del Naja, the record was criticised for it’s lack of invention, and though brooding and emotive, failed to deliver the punch and unique impact of it predecessors.

And this is largely why Heligoland is such a triumph. It is unmistakably Massive Attack. 100^th Window felt like it was missing something, and of course, it was.

Grant “Daddy G” Marshall, the other half of Massive Attack provides the soul, roots and dub that has been absent since Mezzanine, and the two together have produced something that is as relevant now as their first three releases were to the 1990’s that alone they could never have done.

Opening track Pray For Rain immediately sets a dark, sinister scene, and when the fuzzy bassline breaks through the gloomy cluster of piano chords, it feels like a huge thunderstorm is brewing and the heavens are about to open. Unexpectedly, this exhilarating build up opens out into an almost euphorically blissful breakdown and vocal harmony.

This provides the first hint that this might not just be a hopeful stab at returning to past glories, but something entirely new and equally exciting.

Babel, and later, Psyche, feature guest vocalist Martina Topley-Bird, a more understated female vocalist than on previous releases, but her soft and sweet soulful vocals nicely accompany another new direction, that feels almost like a work in progress, and perhaps something for the future.

Splitting The Atom and Girl I Love You are highlights, and are perhaps more what is expected from the duo, and on which the influence of Daddy G is particularly evident. Warm organ is encased by skanking beats and slippery vocals on Splitting The Atom, while thundering basslines and the return of Horace Andy on Girl I Love You are enough to send shivers down the spine. Neither of these tracks would feel out of place on Mezzanine.

Other high-profile guest vocals come courtesy of Damon Albarn on Saturday Come Slow, and Guy Garvey on Flat Of The Blade, and further highlight that despite so long out of the spotlight, how relevant and durable the Massive Attack sound is.

Garvey’s melancholic tones perfectly compliment this bleak soundscape of electronic bleeps and fuzz bass buzzes, and are almost akin to Hail To The Thief and In Rainbows era Radiohead. A likeness that should also be stated on the beautiful Saturday Come Slow: Both tracks are a triumph.

Saturday Comes Slow is either side of 2 tracks led by the vocals of 3D, and are a chance for him to reaffirm his influence on the Massive Attack sound, and that he too has moved forward since 100^th Window. Though not the album’s stand out tracks, both add depth and further highlight the progress and sophistication that is ever-present in their work.

There is little sense of any struggle or clashing of styles and opinions throughout this album, which delivers so much diversity throughout, yet flows so well, and that is a testament to its creators. I just hope we don’t have to wait another decade until their next album.

The Places Between: The Best Of Doves

When I saw that Doves were releasing a best of I must admit I did not feel the urge to immediately download it or run to my nearest record store.

The release is the next logical step for a band that have been delivering anthemic guitar pop for over a decade now.

Their debut, 2001’s Lost Souls was a welcoming one, after the mid-90’s guitar music mediocrity. An un-polished yet slick sound entwined with soaring melodies over a dusty, downbeat soundtrack.

Justifiably it received a nomination for the Mercury Music Prize, and as the noughties brought about a resurgence in guitar music, their second album, The Last Broadcast, shot them to fame in 2002.

It appeared that having found a successful niche in this dominant genre Doves were content to release a series of albums that although still impressive in terms of production and craft, failed to push the band forward.

Latter albums appeared to first be trying to get away from the vast production heavy sound of Last Broadcast, with a coarser sound on 2005’s Some Cities.

Much of this album felt like a struggle to move beyond the success’ of The Last Broadcast, while 2009’s Kingdom of Rust seemed like an attempt to regain it.

However, a best of should be judged on its merits and as a collection ‘The Places Between’ makes for impressive listening and serves up some valuable lessons in sustainability to some of Indie’s current upstarts. 

Opener ‘There Goes The Fear’ is a song that I grew to detest.

I loved it, then suddenly it was everywhere. However, they should be congratulated on there combination of incessantly catchy melodies and slick production skills that for a while, took Doves to the top of their game and there is no denying that‘…Fear’, ‘Pounding’ and ‘Words’ defined this band.

There is nothing wrong with this, it’s just that I much preferred the more subtle approach of Lost Souls.
  
For me, ‘Here It Comes’ and ‘The Cedar Room’ are every bit as good as ‘There Goes The Fear’ and ‘Words’, and along with ‘Sea Song’ and ‘The Man Who Told Everything’, interspersed with the best bits from later releases Some Cities and Kingdom of Rust, I start to realize that as best of collections go, this one is pretty good.

  ‘…Rust’ started with a bang, and a return to production heavy sound as ‘Jetstream’ smacks you between the eyes, and genuinely impressed and hinted at the first sign of real progression since The Last Broadcast.

However, they appear to slip out of the jetstream pretty quickly, and as it drags on this album loses its pace and drive and is lucky to feature even three songs on this best of.

Latest single ‘Andalucia’ deserves a mention, as it provides further evidence that Doves still have something to offer and a few lessons to today’s Indie scene in how to produce a great pop song.

Disc 1 finishes on ‘Caught By The River’, the first release off The Last Broadcast. Less well known than those that followed it, but like so many tracks on this release, it is a slice of pop gold.

The stand out tracks from these albums serve to make up what is an impressive back catalogue, and this release provides a timely reminder of a band who know their genre, and their limits.

With this, their songs become a much more enjoyable prospect.