100th Window
Studio album by
Massive Attack
Released10 February 2003
Recorded2002
StudioSony (London)
Genre
Length73:52
LabelVirgin
Producer
Massive Attack chronology
Singles 90/98
(1998) 		100th Window
(2003) 		Danny the Dog
(2004)
Singles from 100th Window
  1. "Special Cases"
    Released: 24 February 2003
  2. "Butterfly Caught"
    Released: 16 June 2003

100th Window is the fourth studio album by English electronic music group Massive Attack, released on 10 February 2003 by Virgin Records. The album was mainly produced by lead member Robert Del Naja, as the group's producer Andrew Vowles departed shortly after the release of their previous album Mezzanine (1998), and Grant Marshall opted out of the production of the album. 100th Window features vocals from regular guest Horace Andy, as well as newcomers Sinéad O'Connor and Damon Albarn (performing as 2D from Gorillaz). Stylistically, it is the first album by the group to make no use of existing samples, and contains none of the hip hop or jazz fusion styles that the group were initially known for.

Background

Del Naja initially conceived of 100th Window in its untitled form in early 2000 at the Christchurch Studios in Clifton, Bristol, recruiting Lupine Howl, a band made up of ex-members of Spiritualized, for the new project. In a November 2001 interview, Lupine Howl's lead singer Sean Cook described the sessions as "very experimental [...] minimal loops and noises that were fed to our headphones from the computer up in the control room. Then we would have this sort of extended jam session playing along to them and they would do various things to do the loops."[2] Del Naja and Davidge also maintained a strobe light in their studio while the band jammed, dictating the intensity of their performances with the lighting. However, in a post to Massive Attack's forums in July 2002, Del Naja subsequently announced that the band had become "very unhappy with the shapes being formed", and that by the beginning of 2002 they had discarded most of the material that was written up to that point; the September 11 attacks also motivated him to depart from the original tone of the album.

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Alternative Press4/5[5]
Entertainment WeeklyC[6]
The Guardian[7]
Los Angeles Times[8]
Mojo[9]
Pitchfork5.1/10[10]
Rolling Stone[11]
Spin7/10[12]
Uncut[13]

Initial critical response to 100th Window was positive. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 75, based on 25 reviews.[3]

As of February 2010, the album had sold 180,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[14]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Robert Del Naja and Neil Davidge, except tracks 2, 4 and 6, written by Del Naja, Davidge and Sinéad O'Connor

No.TitleVocalsLength
1."Future Proof"3D5:37
2."What Your Soul Sings"Sinéad O'Connor6:37
3."Everywhen"Horace Andy7:37
4."Special Cases"Sinéad O'Connor5:09
5."Butterfly Caught"3D7:33
6."A Prayer for England"Sinéad O'Connor5:44
7."Small Time Shot Away"3D7:57
8."Name Taken"Horace Andy7:47
9."Antistar"3D19:40

Notes

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of 100th Window.[15]

Musicians

Technical

Artwork

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for 100th Window
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[52] Gold 35,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[53] Gold 15,000*
Belgium (BEA)[54] Gold 25,000*
Portugal (AFP)[55] Silver 10,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[56] Gold 20,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[58] Gold 216,607[57]
United States — 180,000[14]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ^ Mixed at Olympic Studios (London)
  2. ^ Mastered at Metropolis Studios (London)

References

  1. ^ Southall, Nick (1 September 2003). "Massive Attack – 100th Window – Review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 30 June 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
  2. ^ Redfern, Mark (June 2002). "Lupine Howl". Under the Radar. Archived from the original on 12 November 2006. Retrieved 15 November 2006.
  3. ^ a b "Reviews for 100th Window by Massive Attack". Metacritic. Retrieved 7 October 2011.
  4. ^ Bush, John. "100th Window – Massive Attack". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  5. ^ "Massive Attack: 100th Window". Alternative Press. No. 177. April 2003. p. 87. ISSN 1065-1667.
  6. ^ Browne, David (14 February 2003). "100th Window". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 1 April 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  7. ^ Petridis, Alexis (7 February 2003). "Massive Attack: 100th Window". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  8. ^ Romero, Dennis (9 February 2003). "Visionary, polished and harrowing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  9. ^ "Massive Attack: 100th Window". Mojo. No. 112. March 2003. p. 97. ISSN 1351-0193.
  10. ^ Ott, Chris (4 February 2003). "Massive Attack: 100th Window". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on 18 March 2009. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  11. ^ Berger, Arion (28 January 2003). "Massive Attack: 100th Window". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 May 2009. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  12. ^ Hermes, Will (March 2003). "Storm Windows". Spin. Vol. 19, no. 3. pp. 117–18. ISSN 0886-3032 – via Google Books.
  13. ^ "Massive Attack: 100th Window". Uncut. No. 70. March 2003. p. 104. ISSN 1368-0722.
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