A full five years after their last release, Britain's finest trip-hop collective return with a stirring reminder of what made them so special in the first place. True, with only one of the original lineup still in place, it's questionable whether 100th Window should be regarded as a Massive Attack album at all. Still, it's hard to worry about it too much when Robert Del Naja (aka 3D) has assembled such a strong cast of guest artists to keep the creative pot bubbling over. Damon Albarn and Horace Andy are both worthy of mention, but top of the list is Sinead O'Connor, whose three vocal contributions here are amongst the most memorable things she's ever done. 100th Window is certainly the gloomiest Massive Attack album yet, dominated as it is by dark electronica, warped beats and moody atmospherics. A little uneven it might be - in particular Del Naja's curiously listless vocals could easily have been cut - but its best moments are absolutely mesmerising and the equal of anything on their 1991 masterpiece Blue Lines. One to savour slowly and often.
