It has been a weird yet sometimes wonderful ride for this Bristol collective ever since the release of their now legendary debut album. At the heart of the dub-edged Blue Lines record, Massive Attack offered dark horse Safe From Harm and what to this day remains one of their finest ever compositions, Unfinished Sympathy. It not only got them noticed, but propelled them to the top and earned them a cult tag that was engaging enough to reel in a broader audience. That the band has never been afraid to experiment is no secret. This has in fact been an essential factor in shaping each and every one of the four albums proper released to date, and is certainly reflected in the two soundtracks recorded in 2004 and 2005.
While the core of the music has always drawn from dub for inspiration, Massive Attack have always expressed a tendency to involve guest singers. This naturally adds to the dimension of each individual song, an aspect perhaps best portrayed on Teardrop’s brittle yet effective vocals (courtesy of Cocteau Twin Liz Fraser) and Tracy Thorn’s sparse yet effective delivery on Protection. The 14 tracks on the normal edition of Collected, including brand new track Live With Me, pretty much trace out the band’s remarkable career, but for a closer incursion, the special double-disc edition, including a Dual Disc DVD is by far a more worthwhile purchase!
CD Courtesy of Exotique
She Wants Revenge
It’s not quite clear who she is, why she wants revenge or who from! What is clear is that this Los Angeles duo is vehemently influenced by the post-punk legacy of 80s icons like The Sound, Joy Division and The Cure, to name just a few. Yes, it is a sound that has been resurfacing a great deal in recent times, thanks to the emergence of a new wave of British guitar bands with a healthy broadmindedness and an equally effective dose of wide-eyed naiveté to appreciate that dark musical beauty that has over time proved to be even more vital to British rock than the punk and pop of that notorious decade.
She Wants Revenge have been lambasted by some critics in their home country who have accused them of being an opportunistic chameleon act. Apparently, they say, this duo was originally a pop act. True, but it is a pop act that briskly tuned in to the growing popularity of the post-punk revival and delivered a fine collection of songs that never try to disguise their influences but wear their heart on their sleeve. Yes they do sound like Joy Division-meets-The Cure-meets-New Order, and yes, the vocals do flit from Human League’s Philip Oakey to the late, great Ian Curtis. But in the end, it is an album that remains interesting and pleasant to listen to, particularly the pounding opening track Red Flags And Long Nights and the flowing electro-pop of Monologue, sculpted very much in a Depeche Mode fashion!
CD courtesy of WWW.lib66.tk