100th Window
(Virgin)
Massive Attack's debut, Blue Lines, was lost on American record shelves.??In 1991, while Blue Lines generated critical acclaim in Britain, Nevermind was rejuvenating a stale rock 'n' roll. But just as Nirvana's landmark album became the first classic of a growing grunge chic, Massive Attack became the first champions of trip hop: a down-tempo mix of electronica and hip-hop beats. It took an opus, 1998's Mezzanine, for Massive Attack to generate the American acclaim it deserved.??Having spawned the career of Tricky and debuted an album at No. 1 on the UK charts, Massive Attack released a much anticipated fourth album, 100th Window.
Since its inception as the three-man Wild Bunch in 1980s Bristol, England, Massive Attack has taken many forms. In the early days Tricky was exclusively their emcee, while later albums included a deluge of female guest vocalists like Tracy Thorn. For the first time, however, the core of the Wild Bunch is entirely missing. Long gone is Tricky, who left to pursue a solo career. In spite of the success of 1998's Mezzanine, Andrew \Mushroom"" Vowles left Massive Attack disappointed at the direction of the band. Grant ""Daddy G"" Marshall, still with the band, was absent from the 100th Window tapings, spending time with his daughter. Robert ""3D"" Del Naja uses the name Massive Attack as essentially his pseudonym for this album.
100th Window's sound is more mature and mellower compared to Mezzanine. The album, at its best, concentrates on songs built on the interplay of well-chosen samples creating an enveloping, creepy atmosphere. Del Naja is daring enough to strip a voice of its lyrics so it becomes an instrument rather than a focal point of a song. Horace Andy's guest vocals are hardly recognizable as his own, even while his are among the most legendary of reggae. Tracks like ""Future Proof"" and ""Antistar"" benefit from being so well layered that samples many bands would showcase are pushed into the background. Sinead O'Connor's voice delicately floats over ""What the Soul Sings"" and harmonizes the acutely haunting ""Special Cases.""
When Del Naja fails, it is because his well-stylized music goes nowhere or his song strays too far from the album's true strength, its complexity. The much-hyped, anti-child-abuse single ""A Prayer for England"" is nothing special outside its message. 100th Window lacks a specific standout track, although nearly all its songs are well above par.
Even before Mezzanine, a perfect album with immaculate tracks, fans had begun to rely on standards so high for Massive Attack that a very good album would be a disappointment. 100th Window is such an album, a remarkably rewarding album that will leave Massive Attack's fans unfulfilled. If any other band released 100th Window it would be a stunning success. Instead, and perhaps unfortunately, 100th Window will fade into the background of Massive Attack's storied career.
Your Love Means Everything
(Elektra)
If you called British DJ David Kosten a man who likes things simple, you wouldn't be far off the mark. This is, at least, the way he comes across the music he's released on the album Your Love Means Everything, under the name Faultline.
There are 12 tracks on this album, many of which are based around extremely simple piano lines that are then complemented by beats and bass lines. Kosten enlists quite a lineup of guest vocalists for his songs although half the songs are purely instrumental, and half have vocals.
The first name to jump out is Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Then there is Wayne Coyne of the increasingly popular Flaming Lips. And on two tracks, Coldplay lead Chris Martin contributes both vocals and lyrics.
Stipe's ""Greenfields"" has a haunting, moody feel laced throughout it. A spooky sounding story of sorrow, ""Greenfields"" feels like you're being told a cautionary fable about the past. Then there is ""The Colossal Gray Sunshine,"" on which Coyne sings. The track has echoes of some of the Flaming Lips' work, though with fewer layers. And that comes back to the essence of the whole album. Kosten keeps things simple.
The main time the album strays far from its simplicity is on ""Waiting for the Green Light,"" featuring Cannibal Ox. Here he moves away from the general quietness of the rest of the album, but comes up short. The main problem with the song is that it's not that good on its own. It isn't bad, but when compared with the other tracks on this album it stands out like a sore thumb. It feels more like it is Kosten's attempt to break it down and show he can be harder. The album would benefit if the track were taken off of so you wouldn't have to skip over it when you listen to it.
The title track opens the album as an instrumental. In the end it is revisited as the final song, with the addition of Chris Martin on vocals. It's not that the lyrics are bad, it's just that the simplicity of the track, sans vocals, offers something more.
Faultline's music isn't extremely catchy on first listen, but that doesn't make it bad. However, Your Love Means Everything probably won't catch on too much here in the States, but it's certainly worth a few listens.
Dirt
(Vanguard)
Lurking just behind the insurgent images of guitar and indie rock is a more gravelly and rough form. Rock music, meaning the ""a-few-guys-just-singing-about-the-days"" form of rock, has been steadily creeping back in. Kenny Wayne Shepherd could be said to have led this silent renewal with ""Blue on Black"" and his limitless talent. Yet even behind Shepherd there had to be a hit-maker. The man who wrote ""Blue on Black,"" Mark Selby, charges out of his shadows with his sophomore release, Dirt.
Mark Selby may not be garnering the headlines, but he has been collecting plenty of credits behind his name. His catalogue of hits stretches from ""There's Your Trouble,"" performed by the Dixie Chicks, to ""Last Goodbye,"" another hit from Kenny Wayne. Selby has been content to watch from a distance and chip in a bit of wisdom when necessary. But now he's ready to step up, make some memorable hits and assert himself on a broader musical scene.
Dirt barrels in with gritty guitar work and enough volume for any honky-tonk bar. If it weren't for the ripping sound of the guitars behind him, Selby's hard-nosed songs might fall flat. Thankfully, the instrumental side is almost perfectly calibrated to the lyrics. This goes beyond his hard-rocking numbers and stretches into the slower, more relaxed songs. Late in the album, ""Easier to Lie"" offers a few acoustic notes and tender melodies that match up with the won't-regret-anything attitude the track extols. Always in the background, an appropriately lazy drumbeat keeps time just enough to keep the song moving at its never-rushed pace.
Dirt brings together just enough stray roots to seem like a tumbleweed blowing across an empty plain. Mark Selby offers up an album that lets the guitar remind anyone lucky enough to listen to it that rock is still legitimate. Thankfully, Selby makes a damn good spokesman.
