UltraNormal

The other two music-related things I was going to tell you about yesterday before Mike delivered his new album were the two CD's I got in the mail on Monday. They are:

• Massive Attack: 100th Window: Before I start this, I have a confession. I am a huge Massive Attack fan. I own all their albums. I have been waiting for this for five years. So, if I break down and start to cry, that's why. This is a great album. Go out and buy it right now. Why? It has Sinead O'Conner sounding the best she ever has in some haunting Teardrop-esque (my favorite song EVER) pieces on it. The rest of it is classic Massive Attack, only new. There's growth and expansion from what they did on Mezzanine. The sound is fuller, and has more layers than anything that's come before. Everywhen is heavenly, with the slightest bit of distortion on the keyboards adding a pleasant roundness to the sound. The layers come in one by one and wash over my ears, making me nod and close my eyes. It's hypnotic and then it blows your ass out of the chair - like the best of their other work (think "Angel has a baby with Teardrop who sounds a little like Safe From Harm").
• Groove Armada: Goodbye Country (Hello Nightclub): I somehow have a copy of Edge Hill on my computer that I swear I have no idea how it got there. It's a great song, and I was already placing my order with Amazon, so I went for it. I'm glad I did. The other songs on the album bear little resemblance to Edge Hill, but they're still good. I even like the rap in the first song (it shows up in others two, but I'm listening to Massive Attack still, so I'm not going to go find them. The album flows really well between songs, and creates a great laid back mood throughout, even when it's rockin'. After Edge Hill, Little by Little has me going back to it over an over. Hypnotic, densely layered and beautiful, even the vocals are great. What I love about the song is it gives you a good couple minutes to set the mood of the song before the vocals come in. Even then, the music takes precedence. Good good stuff for your headphoning pleasure.

My lovely wife got me Fear of Pop for my birthday, which I'll probably review tomorrow, if I can stop listening to Mike's new album, and these two gems.