Massive Attack - Protection
A review of Protection, Massive Attack’s 1994 sophomore album: an over-polished title track guarding a seedy, instrumental-rich trip-hop gem.
Artist: Massive Attack · Year: 1994 · Rating: ★★★
This album is relatively strong, but I have to look past the first track to accept that.
It’s presumptuous to bother reviewing a Massive Attack album. So much music I love depends on them, in a sense. That said: this album is a gem, but it has its highs and lows.
The opening song, Protection, is hyper familiar; the vocalist dominates against a bass heavy beat. “I’ll stand in front of you—I’ll take the force of the blow. Protection.” The lyrics are delivered with conviction, but it’s hard to take a repeated “you’re a girl and I’m a boy” seriously. The melody is catchy, but the rest of the song feels far too safe to make up for the lackluster lyrical content.
Plenty to Love
Fortunately, that track’s not on our Monkey Radio List.
Once you escape the opener, there’s plenty to love. The second track (“Karmacoma”) launches with a dark-but-whimsical beat and excellent rapping from Tricky that adds to the beat, rather than leans too heavily on it. The chorus is repetitive but fits. After the over polish of the first track, it’s refreshingly seedy.
While many tracks feature the gritty raps we’ve come to expect from Massive Attack, instrumentals are common, and well-suited to the Monkey Radio aesthetic. It’s easy to put this on and focus on other things. “Weather Storm” is a strong bass beat and a chill piano line; “Spying Glass” leans into a dub vibe that would be at home on a Thievery Corporation album if it weren’t for the front-and center vocals.
Heat Miser, the next-to-last track, is a particularly delightful example of mood music. It’s filled with driving movie-soundtrack ambiance, as synths, bells, piano, and a driving beat propel the song forward, with nary a lyric to draw attention.
Verdict
At the end of the day, this is a Massive Attack album, and worth the time–but at the same time, I view it as more of a house for a number of good tracks, rather than a piece of wax you can listen to end to end without qualms.
Monkey Radio Tracks: 6/10
- Massive Attack - Karmacoma
- Massive Attack - Three
- Massive Attack - Weather Storm
- Massive Attack - Spying Glass
- Massive Attack - Better Things
- Massive Attack - Heat Miser
