It’s been fashionable to diss Massive Attack’s previous album – 2003’s “100th WINDOW”. Some deemed it “cold”, others called it a “blip”. Blah fucking blah! Personally, I loved it and thought it was brilliantly alien and weird. Well, “HELIGOLAND” is nothing like it, but I wouldn’t say it’s definitely “better”. Just equally brilliant, in a different way. To these humble ears, Massive Attack do not have a weak work to date – their unique sound is as diverse, as it is recognizable. Anyway, after the last “cold” album, it’s now time for a “warm, soulful” one. And the soul here is mostly in the very deep, mesmerizing performances of the vocalists selected. Obviously with Hope Sandoval, one is always guaranteed an ethereal journey into loveliness (apparently “Paradise Circus” is named after a roundabout in Birmingham), but it’s fantastic to hear Guy Garvey guest in the somewhat spooky sonic environment of “Flat of the Blade”. Same with Damon Albarn. Elsewhere we have the usual (and always enticing) atmospherics of Horace Andy and Martina Topley-Bird, as well as a truly heartwarming performance from Tv on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. Horns, eerie and grand orchestrations, bleeps and clicks, trippy beats gone slightly berserk – all this and so much more within “HELIGOLAND”, a most wonderful place to be. There may be many imitators, but Massive Attack at their best remain untouchable.