Sonic Attack! (Blue Lines - Massive Attack)

Member Name: Fatlad

Product:	Blue Lines - Massive Attack
Date:	05/07/00 (22 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Unfinished Sympathy

Disadvantages: Not enough songs

Debut album from seminal Bristol “Trip Hop” band. Pioneered the Bristol sound for the likes of Portishead and Tricky.(Who appears here as the tricky kid)

From the first moment of the bass cutting in you can tell this record oozes class. “Safe from harm” rumbles along, a dark song with Shara Nelson’s vocals intertwined with those from the group members. The obvious comparisons on this whole album are that of hip-hop, but slightly different. It has a faster beat, but with a more British feel, not one of the West Coast of America. You can almost feel the rain and oppressive atmosphere it was recorded in.

The next song “One Love” has a slower beat, and the vocal talents of Hoarse Andy. A song sung to a hip-hop beat.

What really sets this album apart from other great albums is the seminal, single most important song of the last 10 years. “Unfinished Sympathy”. Everyone has heard it, and everyone loves it. The strings, Shara Nelsons haunting vocals and the beat all mix perfectly to produce a moody song of lost love.

The album doesn’t scale these heights again, but it gets close on the closer “hymn of the big wheel”. A very atmospheric song, that breathes hope into the listener. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s the beat or the vocals.

A dark masterpiece.

Summary: