Pros: Dark, creepy musical virtuosity spiked with sexiness and maybe some downers
Cons: Becomes musically homogeneous towards the end, not good for everyday listening
The Bottom Line: Mezzanine is a truly excellent record in many areas, especially this time of year. However, trip-hop in general is an acquired taste, so be warned.
pretzel_logic's Full Review: Mezzanine by Massive Attack
Massive Attack is...
Robert Del Naja ("3D"), Grant Marshall ("Daddy G"), Andrew Vowles ("Mushroom"), Neil Davidge - Production, vocals, keyboards, sampling, etc.
Horace Andy, Elizabeth Fraser, Sara Jay - Guest vocals
Angelo Bruschini - Guitars
John Harris, Bob Locke, Winston Blisset - Bass
Andy Gangadeen - Drums
Dave Jenkins, Michael Timothy - Additional keyboards
I have never been afraid of new musical ideas. OK, yeah, maybe as a kid I was more than a little freaked out by "Revolution #9", but musical experimentation is something I cherish now. Heck, I even broke out my hip-hop hatred by listening to "Paul's Boutique" over and over until it became one of my favorite records. I think U2's bizarre 90's phase was the best part of their career. I've always considered "Magical Mystery Tour" to be a better record than "Sgt. Pepper" and so on.
Massive Attack is a weird band. When they started out, they sounded like contemporary R&B played through a nuclear reactor, but they grew to become one of the few rock/rap artists to actually use the mix correctly, and even helped found a new genre: trip-hop. Trip-hop is essentially hip-hop, except slower, darker, and more lyrically ambiguous. It actually became a viable genre, getting a ton of press back in the day (which is, I dunno, 1996?), though it's kind of faded into the background since then. I'm not terribly familiar with the genre, as the only artists I've really listened to that dabble in it are Bjork (circa "Homogenic"), Portishead, and, of course, Massive Attack, but don't worry; I know enough about it to write a review about a trip-hop record.
MA were formed in the fittingly depressing industrial city of Bristol, England, where they started out as an offshoot of the DJ group The Wild Bunch. From there, they gained popularity with their first release, 1991's "Blue Lines" and single "Unfinished Sympathy", which was, quite frankly, an awesome song. The 1994 followup "Protection" went over pretty well, but didn't really add much to their legacy, at least according to critics and the smaller crowd of people that bought the record. I still haven't listened to it, but I think that the title track is a spiffy tune. Anyway, the band had to go back to the drawing board for 1998's Mezzanine, and, when they did, they were apparently so thrilled with it that they put it up on their website months before it was released, which has become relatively commonplace within the industry these days.
Mezzanine is, for lack of a better word, a good record. It just is. It's well-performed, well-produced, well-sequenced, and has an amazing atmosphere. It's one of those records that can transport me to a different (RE: cold, sterile, HAL-monitored) place with the push of a button. It gets bonus points for that, certainly, but the songs are also of high quality. Let's begin.
Opener "Angel" has such a sweet title, doesn't it? The lyrics are just as nice: "You are my angel/Come from way above/To bring me love." Aww. It's only fitting, however, that the band balances this with some of the most awesomely heavy rock n' roll possible. The opening is nothing but throbbing bass and hollow percussion, but eventually builds into a huge rocker, capable of frightening small children, turning off old folks, and generally melting faces. The arrangement is incredible, and I love the sound effect they use that sounds like a truck backing up run through an echo chamber. We're happy to see you too, Massive Attack.
The cold, robotic funk of "Risingson" is surprisingly palatable and catchy. I find myself rapping some of the lyrics in a monotone manner to myself from time to time:
"Toy-like people make me boy-like
They're invisible, when the trip it flips
They get physical, way below my lips"
3D (Robert Del Naja) raps like the white boy he is (British accent and all), which makes the overly-serious vibe of the song almost humorous, but I still love it. It has the most hypnotic beat possible, and percussion that sounds like someone smacking an empty package of oreos with a spoon. "Inertia Creeps" tries the same general tactic, but ups the sexiness level a bit (was there even one to begin with?) , and adds some more exotic (Indian?) instruments and percussion to the mix. I like it fine, but it has less of a hook to it than Risingson.
Not all of the album is noisy dance-rap, however. "Teardrop", featuring Elizabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins, is gorgeous, combining the creepy atmosphere much of the album contains with a lovely piano/keyboard/vocal melody. Fraser's voice is so beautiful and fragile, and it matches the music perfectly. You should recognize if you are a fan of House, M.D. (like I am), which uses the song as its theme song in the US. "Dissolved Girl" mixes Angel's intensity with a stronger melody to make for a creepy yet catchy tune that builds into a manic rocker. During that part, the guitar, which reminds me of something Kirk Hammett would play, has an amazing tone, and gives the song texture. This would be a good time to mention that most of the lyrical content of the record goes over my head and is far too ambiguous for me to interpret at this time. Most of the time, it succeeds, though occasionally it can delve into overly-cheesy metaphors that sound dark and ambiguous just for the sake of it.
"Man Next Door", however, is a success both lyrically and musically. A cover of the John Holt reggae classic "A Quiet Place", it's an extraordinarily disturbing song that never actually implies anything all that disturbing at all on the surface. However, the song is actually about domestic abuse. The beat, which is a combination of overdriven drums and a chorus-drenched guitar, along with the haunting (and nasal) vocals of Horace Andy, a roots reggae singer, make the subject matter seem even more affecting. Props to Massive Attack for digging this one up. "Black Milk" is one of the more laid-back songs on the album, featuring a twinkling piano melody and some haunting vocals from Fraser. The beat is very hip-hop, with thumping drums and what sounds to me like subtle scratching. The song doesn't change much over its 6 minute runtime, but I can dig it.
The album weakens a bit towards the very end with the nearly formless "Group Four" providing little in the way of a hook in its rather self-indulgent 8 minutes, and the title track, which is enjoyable to me, but doesn't really bring anything new to the table. There is this really subtle guitar line in it that is only noticeable under headphones...it really injects some melody into what is otherwise a relatively drab and noisy track. Bonus points for that sweet bass line.
The other two tracks are very similar in melody and structure. One is entitled "Exchange" and the other is called "(Exchange)". Big difference, huh? They're both very relaxed and fun jams, featuring some awesome bass and little cricket effects. The first is purely instrumental, while the second (the album closer) features a Horace Andy vocal, but it doesn't add much to the song. Having two tracks, both around 4 minutes in length, is kind of a waste of a slot, but at least they're enjoyable enough.
Mezzanine is a brilliant headphones record, one that can transport you to new locales and alter your mood. It's a record that deserves many listens; it's so densely layered musically that you probably won't pick up on even 75% of its little quirks on first listen. It's brilliantly performed, and a work of art for sure. Does it have flaws? Sure. It's demanding of the listener, it's too dark to just pick up and play whenever, it's not that great lyrically, and having two Exchange tracks is pretty pointless. However, the positives vastly outweigh the negatives, making Mezzanine a great piece of work overall. Do someone a favor and buy them this for Christmas; Teardrop sounds awesome when the snow is falling.
Track listing
1. Angel (6:18) *****
2. Risingson (4:58) **** 1/2
3. Teardrop (5:29) *****
4. Inertia Creeps (5:56) ****
5. Exchange (4:11) **** 1/2
6. Dissolved Girl (6:07) ****
7. Man Next Door (5:55) **** 1/2
8. Black Milk (6:20) ****
9. Mezzanine (5:54) ****
10. Group Four (8:13) ***
11. (Exchange) (4:08) ***
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