We can be quite confident that this is the first Massive Attack release to be featured on Americana UK, we wouldn’t go so far as to say that it is the very first mention of Massive Attack – we’re pretty confident now that we’ve mentioned Massive Attack a couple of times, maybe three even, and who knows perhaps more since the staff writers toiling away at their stand up desks (it’s healthier, and also we don’t have to waste money on chairs) in Americana UK Towers have tastes that are eclectic, diverse, and let’s face it, quite bizarre sometimes. But don’t mention that to them, they can be a bit sensitive. Which is totally fine – being in touch with your emotions is better, we’d argue, than being, say, some cold insensitive narcissistic bully.
What we can be a bit more definitive about is that Tom Waits has had a lot of mentions, and it certainly helps from our point of view that here he’s collaborated with Massive Attack on Boots On The Ground which represents his first new music for 15 years. It’s pretty uncompromising, and gives Wait’s unfiltered view of the potential horror of infantry combat in the 21st century and perhaps also hints that it doesn’t require a foreign deployment anymore to have officially sanctioned armed men running around cities. The song is available on streaming platforms and will be followed by a 12″ vinyl release. The 12″ edition features Boots on the Ground on Side A, with an exclusively Waits B-side titled The Fly – a track featuring Waits’ trademark droll and sardonic spoken word. He says of the release “One day many years ago, I accepted an invitation from Massive Attack to collaborate. Their long release delay never worried me. Today, as in all of mankind’s yesterdays, guarantees this type of song will never go out of style. Man’s folly of fiascos is a feast for the flies. Hence, the B side of Massive Attack’s upcoming 12 inch The Fly features my appreciation for the winged nuisance.”
Oh yeah, and we should probably mention to anyone who is easily offended by words like shit and fuck that the words fuck and shit will occur in this song with perhaps surprising frequency. And if you don’t like that kind of stuff, which is fine, then you might not want to hit play. For everyone else – just hit it.
