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.