It’s bleak, timely, and exactly the kind of uneasy alliance you didn’t know you needed.
Massive Attack have returned with their first new music in over half a decade, teaming up with Tom Waits for a heavy, slow-burner titled Boots on the Ground – and it lands with a pretty clear sense of purpose.
It’s the Bristol group’s first release since 2020, and notably, Waits’ first recorded appearance since 2011’s ‘Bad As Me’. That alone gives the track a kind of weight, but it’s the mood that really sticks.
It’s tense, uneasy, and very much pointed at the present.
Built around a brooding, industrial pulse, ‘Boots on the Ground’ leans into that familiar Massive Attack dread, while Waits cuts through it with that gravelly, half-spoken delivery.
There’s a clear thematic thread too – war, power, and the kind of blind allegiance that keeps history repeating itself. As the band nods toward Dylan’s ‘Masters of War,’ the message doesn’t feel subtle, but it doesn’t need to be.
Waits, in typical fashion, frames it with a kind of wry fatalism:
“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.”
It’s not exactly hopeful, but it is sharp – and it fits.
The release will also get a 12″ vinyl treatment, featuring ‘Boots on the Ground’ on Side A, and a new Waits solo piece, ‘The Fly,’ on Side B – a spoken-word track that leans into his signature dry, sardonic tone.
Worth noting: Massive Attack are also pushing an eco-conscious angle with the physical release.
The ‘EcoSonic’ pressing uses a lower-impact production process, with 180g vinyl variants in red, white and blue, packed randomly.
It’s a small gesture, but it tracks with the band’s long-running environmental stance – and sits comfortably alongside a song that’s clearly thinking bigger than itself.
‘Boots on the Ground’ is out now on streaming platforms, with the vinyl edition set to follow.
Preorder the vinyl here.
