Seven years is a long time for any band to take to record a 10-track album such as Massive Attack’s Heligoland. One could argue that it’s really been 12 years since the seminal trip-hop band dropped their last LP, seeing as 2003’s 100th Window was essentially a Robert Del Naja solo effort. I know it’s an absolute bummer having to wait a ridiculous amount of time for an album, especially one by the chief innovators of a genre itself. So I’ll cut the fluff and get straight to the music: Heligoland is both Massive Attack’s In Rainbows and The Outsider at the same time. Marvelous in its encapsulation of everything the band has ever attempted but sub par in its lack of track-to-track focus and bloated set of lead vocalists, Heligoland is very much a flawed masterpiece. I heavily emphasize, though, the word “flawed.”
Whether intentional or not, the 10 tracks that comprise Massive Attack’s fifth full-length leaked in a song-by-song manner. Some were good quality, others mere radio rips. What leads me to believe the leak to be purposeful is how well it works to the album’s advantage. For the most part, every track here is great. Several are up to par with the band’s best (see “Girl I Love You,” “Paradise Circus,” and “Atlas Air”). But even though Heligoland doesn’t suffer from lack of cohesion per se, each track is so different from the last (thanks in part to the eight vocalists that span the 10 tracks) that the album sounds more like a trip-hop compilation than a singular work of art.
Detriment though the structure may be, it somehow does not hurt the overall flow. In fact, the album is not just listenable; it’s quite a breeze. Tunde Adebimpe’s “Pray For Rain,” previously showcased on the Splitting the Atom EP, emits a dismal post-apocalyptic atmosphere. “Babel,” on the other hand, is a more beat-oriented dance track; thus, “Pray for Rain” and “Babel” seem an odd juxtaposition. Stylistically, yes, it’s an odd move on Massive Attack’s part. But this formula generally works on Heligoland. The album is, essentially, a string of self-supporting quality singles that somehow manage to avoid the potential awkwardness of their stark individuality.
The only true misstep here is “Flat of the Blade,” a dizzying track that features nausea-inducing electronics coupled with Guy Garvey’s lazy and totally unconvincing vocal delivery. All the other songs are completely solid, but there are a few highlights I would like to mention. Closer “Atlas Air” simply screams for classic status amongst the band’s list of impressive trippy opuses. Robert Del Naja’s haunting voice (crooning dryly about knives making cuts on his insides) works perfectly here surrounded by the creepy Mezzanine-esque atmosphere. It’s doubtlessly the best thing Heligoland has to offer, next to the incredible “Paradise Circus.” Ushered in by the sound of echoing piano keys and (perfectly placed) handclaps, the track ultimately becomes Hope Sandoval’s. Her vocals are just as lazy as Garvey’s, but here they work.
So how does Heligoland stand up to previous Massive Attack releases? Well, it’s better than 100th Window, that’s for sure. I suppose, then, that one could assert this is the best MA album in over a decade. It’s true. In the end, Heligoland is an albums of thorns and roses, albeit one in which the roses are just too beautiful to let the thorns kill all the fun.
