Mezzanine
The third full-length release from Massive Attack is a taste of the future of pop music--a future where precisely engineered events can be seamlessly partnered with the subtle complexities of a human voice. Since their first album,Blue Lines, they've been making similar magic happen with any one of several guest vocalists, but nothing like the way it happens onMezzanine. This time they take the union further, moving it into a darker space in which the individual elements become less discernable. Guest vocalists are Sara Jay, Horace Andy (who also appeared on their debut), and Elizabeth Fraser (of Cocteau Twins), whose amazingly articulate and distinctive voice works so very well with the music of Massive Attack.--Paul Clark