Review Summary: We'll never leave each other cause we leave each other so cold...
Back in 2003 when this album was first released, there was a great deal of pressure on it. It had been five years since the last Massive Attack album, 1998's Mezzanine, had been released and expectations were high. It's easy to forget this now because anyone hearing this album for the first time nowadays will probably have already been informed in advance that it is a disappointment. The problem is that this makes it all too easy for newcomers to shrug this album off on one listen, but this is the sort if album that requires some patience to enjoy. This does not, however, mean that it isn't worthwhile.
The generally accepted viewpoint on this record is that it doesn't really have a new sound, that it's basically Mezzanine 2 but without the highlights of that album. This is completely unfair. 100th Window is an altogether quieter listening experience than Mezzanine. While both albums are heavily focused on mood and atmosphere, Mezzanine had guitar-based explosions, deep, alluring bass and plenty of variety as well. 100th Window is pure texture; it’s a sleepy record. Layers of quite ambience and strings fade in and out over skeletal rhythms, while 3D not so much raps as mumbles over it all. It's gorgeous in places, but it does absolutely nothing to grab your attention, and because of this it ends up being a disappointment when compared to the first three MA albums.
However, when appreciated based on its own merits, 100th Window has a lot going for it. Future Proof continues MA’s run of brilliant openers. The album has a beautiful, strange mood to it, the best way I could describe it would be to say that it's the early morning to Mezzanine’s night. The general feeling is one of regret, songs like Small Time Shot Away (which is an incredibly underrated track) conjure up feelings of sitting in some filling station at 2 0'clock in the morning, taking a break from driving away from your past to a destination you don't really want to reach.
Once 100th Window sinks in, it's a rich and rewarding album in places, though certainly not perfect. Many of the songs are far too long, and Sinead O'Connor's vocals are a bit too over the top for such a subtle record. It really is dependent on mood and that means that when it works it can be otherworldly, but when it doesn’t the bottom line is that is that it's a bit boring.
