Mezzanine
by Massive Attack
This album has been added to 20 private lists and 42 public lists:
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On Vinyl
Greg- Root Genre: Electronic
- Primary Branch: Trip-Hop / Downtempo
- Secondary Influences: Dub, Post-Punk, Alternative Rock, Hip-Hop, Industrial
- Textural Identity: Dark, cavernous and bass-heavy — sub-bass, fractured beats, dub space, distorted guitars, eerie samples and hushed vocals layered into an oppressive nocturnal sound
- Energy Axis: Low → Medium-High (mostly slow and brooding, but with enormous tension and weight rather than outright speed)
Mezzanine is one of the defining Electronic → Trip-Hop records, but it is much darker and more rock-inflected than Dummy. Where Portishead often lean toward noir jazz and soul, Massive Attack push trip-hop toward dub, post-punk and industrial texture. The basslines are deeper, the guitars more abrasive, and the whole record feels physically heavier.
The post-punk influence is especially important. “Angel” grows from a simple bass pulse into a wall of distorted guitar, while “Dissolved Girl” and “Group Four” bring a cold, almost gothic intensity. At the same time, tracks like “Teardrop” preserve the hypnotic, beat-driven core of trip-hop, with Elizabeth Fraser’s vocal providing one of the album’s few moments of luminous beauty.
Small review: Mezzanine feels like trip-hop after midnight with all the warmth removed. “Angel” is monumental, slowly accumulating pressure until the track becomes almost frightening; “Teardrop” offers the album’s most delicate contrast; “Inertia Creeps” is pure rhythmic menace, with dub bass and percussion doing nearly all the work. The sequencing is remarkably coherent, and even the quieter tracks feel charged with unease. It is one of those albums where production itself becomes the main instrument: space, bass and distortion create the emotional narrative as much as melody or lyrics do.
Collection shorthand: Electronic → Trip-Hop / Downtempo.
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My faves!
Zoe Wangseeing this live was transformative omg
faves
- group four
- angel
- teardrop
- black milk
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September.
JONIIIIREVISIT
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My top (Almost 100) Albums of all time.
GwydianTrip Hop, Electronica. Is what the internet refers to Mezzanine as, but how can something in it's infancy put a label on something that is fully fleshed out and grown, as this album was released in 1998. I'd personally call it industrial dance music, almost the kind of feeling you'd get from being in a boiler room set hosted in an abandoned building on the coast. It's gritty and harsh, stripped back to the instruments with the beats that matter. This kind of music is genre defining, it's vital to the progression of music as an art form. Let it impact your brain, go on the bug on the cover doesn't bite.
"I'm a little curious of you in crowded scenes."
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2026-05
vertino#revisiting
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Album Log
ZigZagarooDate: (04/24/26)
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Albums Heard / Listening Log (2026)
sam15/02/26 (Repeat)
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52 albums
Kyle2nd best trip hop album
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ouve isto
afonsomuito bueno, este género chama-se Trip-hop, ouve que nao há nada igual
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What I've Listened to
thea8 - Risingson
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the list.
Joseph SandersRadiohead without the gravitas.
It’s considered by many to be one of the great albums - I just don’t see it. I love the music, but the voice and words don’t hit a cord with me. Teardrops ofc is insane. And they have some good singers featured.
Pick up from man next door.
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Listened Log
TazClassic. OK.
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List of my 10/10 albums from 2021-2025
pavleM.e.z.z.a.n.i.n.e.
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![Montage of album covers from [ARCHIVED] Listening Log 2025 list](/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsiZGF0YSI6NTIzMSwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--c536ac5f0c1a9c4e08e4caca89c16dd0ea22f9b3/-tmp-montage20250604-107-o1nd8v.jpg)
[ARCHIVED] Listening Log 2025
dvt05/13/2025
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20 album covers that shaped my musical preferences
Matt RoutleyThis one started my ongoing affection for bleak, creepy, and paranoid music.
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Favourite Albums
Jason Lingard90s, Trip Hop, Electronica
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