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Rating: Sacred Monsters.
That's what Massive Attack are to me. This is the first time I'm attempting a review of their work, and I'm doing so with a mix of reverence and unease. I loved their early period so much, but I was a bit disappointed by their path after Mushroom's departure.
Ever since 'Mezzanine,' their sound has become less black and, personally, also less fascinating, despite the high quality of their work. But inserting this 'Danny The Dog' (soundtrack of the homonymous film produced by Besson) into the player at a specific time that sees me in search of colder sounds closer to techno-ambient, I was pleasantly surprised.
As with the previous '100th Window,' the lineup of Massive Attack is reduced to just Robert 3d Del Naja (the darker, more rhythmic, and less soulful side) with the compositional support of producer Neil Davidge and numerous musicians during the recording phase. The mood of the album is dark and strongly rhythmic, reminiscent of Warp's sounds, acting as a hypothetical link between the wicked trip-hop of Aphex Twin and the techno-like minimalisms of Boards Of Canada. But not only, there are strong fascinations towards guitar distortions in the nu-metal style and post-rock expansions. Other tracks remain more electronic, for example "Two rocks and a cup of water" and "Sweet is good" where the influence of the magnificent Cluster on the young Robert's mind is clear, or the title track, which reveals everything 3d has learned from collaborations with composer Craig Armstrong.
This 'Danny The Dog' is truly beautiful; it almost makes me consider it as a much darker version of 'Geogaddi' by the already mentioned Boards Of Canada. But for the future of Massive, I still hope for a worthy return to sounds just a little bit more black.
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