Massive Attack - Protection LP

180g Vinyl - Virgin Records

Three years after changing the musical landscape with the stoned and soulful majesty of "Blue Lines", Massive Attack returned to the airwaves and turntables with the afterhours cool of "Protection". A natural successor to their stratospheric debut (even down to the sleeve design), "Protection" finds the group in confident mode, continuing to fuse hip hop, reggae and soul, but adding elements of R & B and chilled out electronica. The LP opens in emotive fashion with Tracey Thorn collaboration "Protection", before the thumping bass and relaxed rhymes of "Karmacoma" begin to test your speakers. The infectious, undulating groove of "Weather Storm" is one of the finest sample flips ever, while the menacing piano and robust breakbeats of "Heat Miser" rival the introspective quality of anything on DJ Shadow's "Endtroducing". Peppered with irresistible melodies and irrepressible rhythms throughout, all the while maintaining a subtle melancholy, "Protection" is the perfect soundtrack to those lonely moments very late in the night.