Bleep

Massive Attack were ready to kill the very thing they helped create. Revisionist history paints their landmark third LP Mezzanine as a high water mark for the “trip-hop” genre, but in real time it was something like a refutation of the very idea. Stripping away some of their earlier detritus, the album was a defiant step away from the hype, a course correction towards something deeper, grittier, more real with Plantasia mastermind Mort Garson as well as The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Velvet Underground in the sample list helping shape the overall bleaker soundscape.

As dim and dingy as that overexposed stag beetle on the cover, the album is a deep dive into the dark recesses of the mind. 3D’s fingerprints are all over the place, favouring deep, cavernous dub and experimental electronics over the more hip-hop inspired noise of yore, setting a firm tone over the group’s identity and democratic workflow for the remainder of their existence. And yet, in other ways the album marks Massive Attack’s most collaborative period outside the foundational group. Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser takes multiple star turns, essentially becoming a full fledged member during the band’s touring duties in support, and of course the legendary Horace Andy's indelible continued contributions cannot be overstated either.

However, for all the accolades and attention, Mezzanine was not without its casualties; founding member Mushroom left the band just before its release following disagreements over their new darker direction. Fair to say that Massive Attack’s brightest moment clearly sent shivers down the group’s fault lines, setting the tone for the group’s more fallow period.

As we look back on Mezzanine now 27 years later for Bleep’s From The Archives series, what’s most striking is how much it still sounds like today.