Published on Nov 13, 1998
After
Protection was released in 1994, the state of Massive Attack
was iffy at best. After making the revolutionary album,
Blue Lines, the “trip hop” pioneers released a good album,
but wasn’t as well received as their debut. And since 1994, the
line-up of the band has changed-although the three core members,
Mushroom, 3-D and Daddy G still control the helm.
With
Protection, Massive Attack recruited the talents of Tracey
Thorn, from Everything But the Girl. With
Mezzanine, the female vocalist of choice is the Cocteau
Twin’s Elizabeth Fraser. In 1994, Massive Attack had few peers in
the genre of electronica. Since 1994, two huge talents, Portishead
and Tricky, have emerged. It looked like Massive Attack had to
settle for being pioneers in the early ’90s and potential relics in
the last half of this decade.
But something happened.
Mezzanine came out in June of this year. And while many
people thought the best Massive Attack could do was release albums
that could hold a candle to Tricky and Portishead’s latest works,
Massive Attack releases an album that sets the bar higher for both
bands.
Lumping those three bands into one category is unfair, however.
As a group, Massive Attack deserve to be judged on its own merits.
And
Mezzanine is beginning to sound like one of the only albums
to come out this year that could be a potential classic. The first
time you listen to it, it’s hard not to take it as anything but
background music, unless you’ve had enough wine in your system and
are really immobile. Not that the album is boring, it’s just that
it’s a very atmospheric album. You feel like you should be reading
or doing something (fill in your pleasure task) while the album is
playing.
Listen after listen, however, and
Mezzanine begins to sink in and infect the listener. The
beautiful “Teardrop” is perhaps the most lovely ballad released
this year. But right after, a menacing gangsta beat ushers in
“Inertia Creeps”. The claustrophobic feel of the album, which fits
the title of the album to a ‘T’ is hard to explain. Most of the
beats are slowed down, creating a trance-like effect. Elizabeth
Fraser’s vocals are soothing, almost diva-like throghout the album,
but it still by no means makes
Mezzanine feel like easy listening.
Like Tricky (yeah, I know, I said I hated to lump the artists
together, but this is a valid parallel), Massive Attack works best
when a female vocalist is crooning. The vocals on “Man Next Door”
sound unintentionally like Faith No More’s Mike Patton. That makes
the next song, “Black Milk” all the more appealing as Fraser comes
back into the picture.
Like
OK Computer last year,
Mezzanine has the feel of an album that could not only stand
the time as a great piece of work, but as a work that is actually
going to influence other musicians. You don’t know the extent of
how
Mezzanine will influence other musicians, but you have a gut
feeling that it somehow will have a great effect. That judgement
won’t be known for a couple of years. Until then, let
Mezzanine settle into your system. It’s an aural trip unlike
any other this year.