You Befriended The Harsh Way It Ended

Massive Attack featuring Martina Topley-Bird “Babel”

It’s nice to have Martina working with good people again. Her two solo albums weren’t bad, but are bland in a way that strongly suggests that she is the kind of artist who needs a good collaborator to yield interesting results. Her chemistry with Tricky is perhaps one of those once-in-a-lifetime things, but Massive Attack at least get what is so captivating about the sound of her voice, and what kind of rhythms and textures flatter her distinctively slurred purr. In “Babel”, she’s the cool, calm center of a composition largely composed of tense, fidgeting beats and metallic clanging. It mostly sounds like regret and dread, like some bad decisions have been made and we’re just bracing for the aftermath. She sounds like an observer, or someone who has stepped outside of themselves enough to gain perspective on a situation, but at the same time losing perspective on their place in the mess. Ahhh, romantic gloom and cryptic subtext…Martina Topley-Bird’s bread and butter!

Buy it from Amazon.