Top 10 Best Songs by Massive Attack

Daydreaming is the lethargic, smoky blueprint of what would later become trip-hop. The track leans heavily on a slowed-down beat and the hypnotic rap of Tricky, who sounds half asleep, half in a trance. The mood is unpolished and raw, a perfect reflection of the rainy streets of Bristol. It feels like a night-time walk where the street lights shine just a bit too bright.

A later jewel showing the band hasn't lost any urgency. The collaboration with Young Fathers brings a nervous, paranoid energy that crawls under your skin. The pulsing beat feels like a panicked heartbeat. The production is minimalist but compelling, with the voices weaving bewitchingly around each other. It's a track you hear rather than listen to, felt physically in your core.

With a bassline so heavy it can drill through concrete, Karmacoma is a dub masterpiece. The mood is disorienting and intoxicating, as if you're lost in a smoky lounge where time stands still. The influences of reggae and hip-hop melt seamlessly together. The song radiates a "cool" that's almost tangible, carried by those unflappable, monotone vocals.

Massive Attack at their darkest. The sample from The Velvet Underground is warped into a sinister foundation for the whispering, almost terrifying vocals of 3D and Daddy G. The production crackles and scrapes, with a bass that feels like an approaching storm. It's claustrophobic music of the highest order that still draws you in.

Made famous by the TV series Luther, it's a song of pure, melancholic beauty. Hope Sandoval's voice floats frailly above a rhythmic foundation of hand claps and strings. The contrast between the lovely melody and the underlying tension is masterful. The song blooms slowly like a night flower, seductive but with thorns.

Tracey Thorn's voice (Everything But The Girl) brings a warmth that's rare in the band's catalog. Protection is a blanket of sound; comforting and enveloping, exactly as the title promises. Musically it's rich and layered, with deep basses softened by gentle piano chords. It's one of the few moments when Massive Attack sounds hopeful, without losing their characteristic depth.

A song that starts as a whisper and ends as a hurricane. The buildup in Angel is legendary; the threatening bassline becomes ever more compelling, and the guitars eventually explode into a wall of sound. Horace Andy's voice is both vulnerable and prophetic. The song grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go, a textbook example of dynamics in modern music production.

The opening track of their debut album Blue Lines set the tone immediately. The iconic bassline (borrowed from Billy Cobham) drives the song forward with an unrelenting groove, while Shara Nelson's vocals are powerful and inspired. The song balances perfectly between dance floor and headphones. The textual message about protection and insecurity is strengthened by the urban, restless production.

Is this the most beautiful harpsichord riff in pop history? Teardrop is otherworldly beautiful, in large part thanks to Elizabeth Fraser's (Cocteau Twins) elf-like voice. The rhythm, which sounds like a fetal heartbeat, gives the song an intimate, organic quality. The production is crystal clear and spacious. It feels like you're floating underwater, cut off from the world, surrounded by pure emotion. A timeless masterpiece.

Not only the best song by Massive Attack, but often cited as one of the best songs of all time. The combination of the raw breakbeat with lush string arrangements by Wil Malone creates an emotional impact rarely heard in electronic music. Shara Nelson sings the lungs out of her body about a lost love, full of pain and longing. The track is grand and sweeping, a symphony for the soul that after decades still gives goosebumps at the first note.