Heligoland

Based on the strength of a track or two from the recent Splitting The Atom EP, I decided that the new Massive Attack endeavor would be worth exploring. I'm slightly less than half way through the release and have to say that so far I'm enjoying it. It doesn't come close to matching the sheer genius of Mezzanine, but it also doesn't dwell on it in the half-assed way that 100th Window did. Instead, this album reaches back to earlier Massive Attack styles and delivers the more unrefined flavor of Blue Lines or Protection era Massive Attack, but with the restrained aggression and production genius that made Mezzanine so brilliant. It's a different beast, but somehow still familiar. And thus far well worth the time I've invested in it.