Attack always deliver an exhilarating rampage of complex, menacing grooves. The group's sense of proportion is finer than those of its peers -- rather than create soundscapes for soundscapes' sake, it demands that its atmospheres evoke real moods, real emotions, real engagement. The predominant flavor of
100th Window is Asian, making for a lyrical, relaxed mood, but the vocals address the listener with creepy directness, telling "you" again and again what you're up to. Gonglike bells herald the swirly, layered pop of "Special Cases"; actual funk threatens but never achieves release on "Butterfly Caught." "Future Proof" sounds like a tabla from outer space, as sinuous Middle Eastern noises shimmy against the thump of a drum program. On "Everywhen," a voice of indeterminate sex sings things such as "You think you know." The closer, "Antistar," draws South Asian threads together for a flowing, nervously beautiful, danceable collage.
100th Window includes a couple of drifty dullards -- unforgivable for artists who usually set the bar so high -- notably "Small Time Shot Away," which doodles and deedles like the wait-area music for an amusement park's space-coaster. Massive Attack fans won't be startled by anything on 100th Window, but at nine tracks, this may be the most accessible, freaky, futuristic electronic head-food album on the market.
ARION BERGER
(From RS 916 – February 20, 2003)
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