Music: The Attack is Back

It's Grammy time again and among the usual array of bizarre nominations is one out-of-place nod for No Doubt's "Hella Good" as Best Dance Song. Perhaps the nomination for this Nellee Hooper-produced track is best explained by the fact that Hooper was an early collaborator with the members of Massive Attack, the UK collective that's often characterized as a dance act, yet makes music that's deeper and more reflective than the club-pounding connotation of that category.

While the members of Massive Attack have always maintained that they don't make conventional dance music, success in that genre has not eluded them. "Unfinished Sympathy" off of their debut album, Blue Lines, was a club hit back in 1991 and remains popular today. Despite the hiccup of mediocrity that was 1994's Protection (produced by Hooper), Massive triumphantly reemerged with the chart-topping success of Mezzanine in 1998.

Now, five years later, with 100th Window, Massive continue their tradition of making sophisticated dance music by combining artful, experimental trip hop and atmospheric vocals to reveal an uneasy awareness of the dehumanization of society. This is particularly evident on the opening track, "Future Proof." The oscillating, synthesizer-esque beat and pattering percussion, which create a sense of nervousness and urgency throughout, are tempered by the slow-motion death conveyed by the monotonous vocal track. This same sort of melodic pathos continues throughout the album, reaching new heights on the haunting "A Prayer for England." With its clinical vocals courtesy of the slightly disturbing Sinead O'Connor, a windswept melody and a bass-heavy backbeat, the track makes you feel like you're standing alone in the cold seeking redemption.

Massive's technological wizardry often gives way to melodic, textured compositions, but occasionally the group is the victim of its own experimentation. In particular, many of their initially interesting beats either drone on for too long - in the case of the two-minute finale to "Butterfly Caught" - or the tracks themselves become redundant, evidenced by the penultimate track "Nametaken." Nonetheless, there's no denying the beautiful tragedy that characterizes the rest of the album.

• Hilary Lewis