I’ll just come out and say it. “Risingson” is the single greatest song Massive Attack ever produced and is the hallmark against which I assess every subsequent release.
Sadly, I am still left wanting. 100th Window was dully morose, Danny The Dog had only 1:29 of “Atta Boy” to redeem it and it didn’t quite manage that and don’t even get me started on “Live With Me” from Collected.
Their fifth album, Heligoland, is said to be soon-to-be-released in coming weeks. I’ve heard a few tracks on the album and I can’t say I’m particularly impressed.
Where is the malice, the brooding, the grit and the misery? Where are the hallmarks that made Massive Attack and the Bristol Sound so great? Why does what used to sound so rich and earthy now sound so empty and shallow?
Honestly, I feel like Puccini’s Madame Butterfly! Left waiting what seems an eternity for the return of something in whose embrace I long to find myself, sans the seppuku urgings.