100 Best Albums
- APR 8, 1991
- 9 Songs
- Mezzanine · 1998
- Mezzanine · 1998
- Heligoland · 2010
- Mezzanine · 1998
- Mezzanine · 1998
- Mezzanine · 1998
- Mezzanine · 1997
- Protection · 1994
- Mezzanine · 1998
- Blue Lines (2012 Mix/Master) · 1991
Essential Albums
- 100 Best Albums From the first whispers of whistling wind, driving basslines, and sludgy, slowed breakbeats, the sound of Massive Attack’s 1991 debut is unmistakably theirs. Rooted in the musical culture of Bristol, England, at the turn of the 20th century’s final decade, Blue Lines absorbs the port city’s soundsystem vibrations, industrial grit, and post-punk harshness to produce nine tracks of unsettling nocturnal introspection. Starting out as DJ and MC collective The Wild Bunch, Robert Del Naja, Andrew Vowles, Grant “Daddy G” Marshall, and Adrian “Tricky” Thaws began turning their hand to production in the late ’80s, thanks to a collaboration with local singer Neneh Cherry on her 1989 single “Manchild.” Encouraged by Cherry and her partner, producer Cameron McVey, the quartet soon adopted the moniker Massive Attack and holed up in one of Cherry’s spare rooms to begin work on what would become Blue Lines. Inspired by the reggae music of the Caribbean diaspora in Bristol as much as by nascent UK rap pioneered by artists like Rodney P and the dub-punk of local heroes The Pop Group, Massive Attack forged a record of remarkable clarity, clothed in the paranoid fug of weed smoke. Opener “Safe From Harm” sets the tone, pairing Shara Nelson’s soulful vocals with record-scratches and a thundering rhythm section, while De Naja delivers a typically anxious hook: “I was looking back to see if you were looking back at me to see me looking back at you.” This tension between unease and harmony continues throughout, simmering in the jazz shuffle of the title track as Tricky drawls menacingly, or weaving through the dub bass and counterpoint of singer Horace Andy’s soaring falsetto on “Five Man Army.” Ultimately, it is on the group’s most well-known track, “Unfinished Sympathy,” that they reach their apotheosis. Pairing luscious string orchestrations with eerie vocal samples and Nelson’s yearning vocal lamenting an unrequited love, Massive Attack creates five minutes of soul music that stirs as much as it soothes. The group would go on to be labeled innovators of a new laid-back genre called “trip-hop,” spawning dozens of imitators and hundreds of chill-out playlists. Yet, there is nothing relaxed about Blue Lines: Amid its euphoric melodies is an ominous vocal, and between its groove there is a bassline breaking almost to distortion. On this pioneering debut there is always a reason to look back over your shoulder.
Albums
- 2003
Music Videos
- 2010
- 2010
- 2009
- 2009
- 2009
Artist Playlists
- The trip-hop originators create a moody mélange of sounds and styles.
- Deep-seated psychedelia and eerie atmospheres.
- Lean back and relax with some of their mellowest cuts.
- From genres far and wide.
- Provocative fusions of bleakness and sensuality.
Singles & EPs
More To Hear
- The classic debut that birthed trip-hop.
- King Princess picks the 5 Best Songs on Apple Music.
- King Princess picks the 5 Best Songs in Apple Music.
- "On the Luna" is Added.
- A interview with Robert Del Naja.
About Massive Attack
Born out of the intersection of cultures and styles in Bristol, England, Massive Attack emerged as the architects of the brooding, atmospheric sound soon to be known as trip-hop. Both the genre and the band were rooted in Wild Bunch, a soundsystem famed for live and DJ sets of hip-hop, post-punk, dub reggae, and lovers rock. By the end of the ’80s, four members—rappers Robert “3D” Del Naja and Adrian “Tricky” Thaws, plus musician/DJs Grant “Daddy G” Marshall and Andrew “Mushroom” Vowles—coalesced into Massive Attack. The group made an immediate impact with their delicately textured 1991 debut, Blue Lines, which made stunning use of Tricky (who would soon go solo) and guest vocalists such as reggae great Horace Andy and songwriter Shara Nelson. Rooted in Bristol’s late-millennial musical mélange, Blue Lines absorbed the city’s Caribbean diaspora and industrial backdrop to develop a sleepy, soulful new sound that quickly found kindred spirits in Portishead and Morcheeba. Massive Attack continued to situate star vocal turns within bass-warmed soundscapes suffused with paranoia and intelligence, including Everything But the Girl’s Tracey Thorn on the title track of 1994’s slinky and introspective Protection and Cocteau Twins singer Elizabeth Fraser across several tracks from 1998’s dark and claustrophobic Mezzanine. With Del Naja remaining the one constant in a shifting lineup after that, 2003’s sample-free 100th Window saw Blur’s Damon Albarn—in Gorillaz mode as 2-D—and Sinéad O’Connor step up the mic, while 2010’s Heligoland expanded that expressive potential further with vocals from Mazzy Star’s Hope Sandoval and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. The group’s rustling, moody sound has always lent itself well to remixes (including Mad Professor’s full-album rework of Protection) and soundtrack placement, continuing a fruitful conversation that has since spread more widely via such deserving heirs as Thievery Corporation, Burial, and Sampha.
- ORIGIN
- Bristol, England
- GENRE
- Electronic