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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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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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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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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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BlenderAll the surfaces are exquisitely tasteful, all the string arrangements achingly melancholic. But there are no tunes. [#14, p.138]
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Q MagazineEverything comes dripping in portent and seems too in love with its own seriousness to excite any emotions. [Mar 2003, p.106]
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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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100th Window meanders along, emotion-less and soul-lessalbeit with haunting Middle Eastern flourishes.
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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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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.
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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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UncutTakes a few listens to become accustomed to. [Mar 2003, p.104]
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Less immediate than their brilliantly untouchable 1998 album Mezzanine, this project is unsettling, uneasy and, okay, sometimes unbearably depressing.
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For those who looked forward to the new genre-leading direction in downbeat dance that would come with the next Massive Attack album... well, let's just say the major challenge you'll face with '100th Window' is deciding whether there is a hidden track or that 'Antistar' is really a 22-minute song with an excessively long silent bit in the middle.
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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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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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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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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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A work of delicate menace.
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The WireIt's all elegantly executed and often beguiling, but just too clean and predictable to be really involving. [#228, p.62]
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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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PlanetThe downside is a lack of innovation that has always accompanied Massive Attack's recordings. [#3, p.86]
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Entertainment WeeklyA series of often stillborn soundscapes. [14 Feb 2003, p.72]
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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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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]
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