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The naysayers do not understand. Their expectations hamstring them.... Like the glass sculptures featured in the artwork it is precise, transparent, dangerously fragile, and ominously lit. 100th Window is a masterpiece of its kind.
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UrbWhile its hardly an overwhelming masterpiece like Blue Lines or Protection, it still stands head and shoulders above most everything else. [Mar 2003, p.95]
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'100th Window' is every bit the production masterpiece its predecessors are - in places harkening back to, if not quite matching, the collective's glorious debut.
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MojoIt's recognisably the same band, but lower key, less structured, a set of soundscapes rather than songs, and sometimes almost gothic in its mood. [Mar 2003, p.97]
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VibeWith its ice-cold beats, smoldering bass lines, and shimmering textures, this is one of the most openly erotic albums British pop has ever given us. [Apr 2003, p.178]
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UncutTakes a few listens to become accustomed to. [Mar 2003, p.104]
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Satisfaction enough for those who kept Mezzanine near their stereo for years on end, but a disappointment to those expecting another masterpiece.
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Where Mezzanine sounded scared and sinuous, 100th Window goes a step further: It sounds like music made for headphones with teeth.
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A work of delicate menace.
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Alternative PressIt's a magnificent accomplishment, the sound of one long night spent waiting for someone, but never being certain if you want them to arrive. [Apr 2003, p.87]
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If there's one misstep on 100th Window, it's that [Sinead O'Connor's] talent and her range are underused.
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For most artists, this album would be a significant achievement--but we've come to expect more from Massive Attack.
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Spin100th Window is a masterpiece of haunted sonics. But the spirit of community that once warmed this band's angsty soul is missing. [March 2003, p.117]
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Is this Mezzanine lite? In a way, yes. There is nothing here as gripping as "Angel," "Risingson," or "Inertia Creeps." Womblike and seductive, this is make-out music for hibernating astronauts.
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Massive Attack fans won't be startled by anything on 100th Window, but at nine tracks, this may be the most accessible, freaky, futuristic electronic head-food album on the market.
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PlanetThe downside is a lack of innovation that has always accompanied Massive Attack's recordings. [#3, p.86]
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Even in the album's most quiet moments, songs rarely waver in dynamics from their liftoff point.
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The problem is that it's just not very engaging, treading the same cinematic-heavy soundscapes over and over again without much in the way of dynamics or anything new in terms of sound.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 63 out of 68
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Mixed: 4 out of 68
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Negative: 1 out of 68
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SteveSFeb 14, 2003
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Oct 8, 2021
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Jul 2, 2021