Massive Attack – Heligoland

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It’s been 12 years since Massive Attack released the trailblazing trip-hop insta-classic Mezzanine, and since then, only one album has surfaced (2003’s poorly received 100th Window, which has actually aged gracefully over the years). Can you blame them? (Or him if you want to get technical, Robert Del Naja is the only original member left).  When everything they do from now on will be judged against that one piece of pure perfection, it’s probably pretty difficult to get psyched to put yourself up against that kind of scrutiny time and time again. But February will finally grace the world with Heligoland, an album that was seven years in the making and was actually slated to come out nearly two years ago but was continually pushed back for more tinkering and constant retooling. Now that it’s finally here, the real question is, does it stack up to the infallible Mezzanine? Nope. Unfortunately, it doesn’t even stack up to their early-90s albums Blue Lines and Protection. But after repeated listens, Heligoland does have a few gems buried just below the surface.

The first thing that’s noticeable about Heligoland is all the lead vocal cameos. Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio), and Guy Garvey (Elbow) are the names that pop out at you at first, but any Massive Attack fan can tell you that the bread is buttered on the female side of things, and that’s where the good stuff comes from this time around from the likes of Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star) and Martina Topley-Bird (ex-flame to Tricky, who was in the early formation of Massive Attack). The bread is also always topped with scrumptious helpings of reggae legend Horace Andy as well, and it’s no surprise that he’s featured on the best overall track, “Splitting the Atom,” as is original Massive Attack member Grant Marshall. Del Naja puts together an hour’s worth of affable beats and production, but Heligoland just doesn’t flow as well as albums in the past. Some tracks, like the Guy Garvey-led “Flat of the Blade” just don’t work at all and would have been better suited to be left off the album altogether. That isn’t to say, though, that this album doesn’t get better with repeated listens. The Tunde Adebimpe-led “Pray for Rain” is a grower, and Damon Albarn can’t seem to do anything wrong lately, and his featured track, “Saturday Come Slow,” is no different. Even the two tracks that Del Naja takes the lead on (“Rush Minute” and album closer “Atlas Air”) have their shining moments. Heligoland may feel like a bit of a disappointment for now, but, just like 100th Window did, I’m sure in time it will find a place of fond remembrance at some point in the future in the minimal output that is the Massive Attack catalog.

Beach House – Teen Dream

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Baltimore duo Beach House, consisting of vocalist/keyboardist Victoria Legrand and guitarist Alex Scally, have been making shoe-gazey, blessed-out, indie-psych pop for nearly half a decade now, but neither of their first two albums even came close to the near epic perfection that is their newest release, Teen Dream – ten tracks of ethereal gems, any of which could accompany one as he reaches the gates of heaven on those puffy white clouds I imagined in my own (long since past) teen dreams.

                Chalk it up to touring with a band like Grizzly Bear for the last year to inspire a quiet little band like Beach House to turn up the angelic, hushed harmonies and melodies to eleven to completely make your heart swoon. Beach House, particularly Legrand,  have a way that instantly makes you think of great shoe-gaze bands of old that employed female vocalists such as Lush, Slowdive, Galaxie 500, the quieter My Bloody Valentine and especially Mazzy Star. Whether it’s flooring you with tuneful moments of brilliance, such as the opening “Zebra” (masterfully performed on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, their TV debut a few weeks back), or knocking you back on your heels with walls of sound on a track such as “10 Mile Stereo,” Teen Dream is the rare album that, depending on your mood, can make you cry tears of joy or sadness at any given moment. 2010, meet your first truly great album.

Charlotte Gainsbourg – IRM

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Charlotte Gainsbourg, for all intents and purposes, is known in America for two things before she’s even known as a singer. First and foremost, she’s known as the daughter to the famous (and infamous) French singers Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin, and second, as an actress (following in her mother’s footsteps) that starred in films such as the popular art-house movie The Science of Sleep and the truly horrific Antichrist, alongside Willem Dafoe. Gainsbourg is no stranger to singing, however. She got her start at the very young age of twelve, sharing a duet with her father on the immensely creepy “Lemon Incest.” Four years ago was when she truly jumpstarted her music career, though, with her album 5:55, a full-length, completely arranged by the French electronic group Air with lyrics written by wry singer/songwriters Jarvis Cocker of the U.K. band Pulp and Neil Hannon, a.k.a. The Divine Comedy. A huge splash overseas, 5:55 went platinum in Europe but barely made a splash in the States. Her new album, IRM, will try to rectify that fact. For IRM, Gainsbourg enlisted popular artist Beck to not only write her new album with her, but also compose and arrange every track. A tall order to be sure, especially with Beck’s own solo career being more than a full-time job, but somehow the chanteuse and the American rock star make it work. Scratch that, making it work would be something passable; IRM is almost masterful in its execution. Gainsbourg’s vocals and Beck’s lush production make for a match made in heaven.

Let’s not beat around the bush; IRM is as much a new Beck album as it is Gainsbourg’s, and it’s easily his best work since 2002’s Sea Change (an album, let’s face it, heavily indebted to Serge). The arrangements, musically speaking, might be the best thing he’s ever done, even enlisting his father David Campbell to do the string arrangements on tracks such as “Le Chat Du Café Des Artistes,”  “Vanities” and “Voyage.” Beck even shares lead vocals on first single “Heaven Can Wait.” But honestly, this album wouldn’t be nearly as good if it wasn’t for that serene voice of Charlotte’s. Playing the Nancy Sinatra to Beck’s Lee Hazlewood, Gainsbourg shines brightly on tracks such as the Portishead-inspired title track and “Trick Pony” which sounds dirty, naughty and dead sexy. IRM is definitely Gainsbourg’s coming-out party for American audiences. Now all she needs is your undivided attention. Give it to her – she’s earned it.

Sade – Soldier of Love

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In the world of baby-makin’ music, Sade is the female equivalent to Barry White. Honestly, can you imagine how many children have been conceived to Sade staples such as “Smooth Operator,” “The Sweetest Taboo” or “No Ordinary Love” alone? It’s probably better just to not think about it. It’s been ten years since Sade’s last album, Lovers Rock, and Sade (now in her 50s, if you can believe it), is finally releasing Soldier of Love, her long-in-the-works album and only sixth total in a career that spans 25 years.

Soldier of Love – and Sade in general – is not the kind of album you turn to when you’re looking for music that reinvents the wheel. When you put a Sade album on, you know what you’re getting, and Soldier of Love, for the most part, fits nicely along with the rest of her back catalog. The title track is the first single, and her longtime band and her vocals are still top-notch. The one problem I have with Soldier of Love, though, is there really isn’t that signature song here that every one of her past albums had that instantly calls out to be re-heard. Even Lovers Rock had the classic “By Your Side,” but I’m struggling to find that one song that clearly makes Soldier of Love a sure-fire winner, especially after that long ten-year wait between albums. It certainly isn’t the track “Babyfather,” with its cheesy ragga stylings. That may just go down as the worst Sade track in history. If I had to try and pick out one track that might end up being the signature song, though, with time I would have to say it’s probably going to be the piano ballad “In Another Time,” which is the one track here where voice, music and lyrics all seem to blend harmoniously. The more I hear it, the more I’m falling in love with it; and that may just be the point to Soldier of Love in general. It isn’t as instantly likeable as her past work, but with time, Soldier of Love will hopefully open up to reveal its greatness. I just cross my fingers that we don’t have to wait another decade to be blessed with new music from her one-of-a-kind voice.