Massive Attack and Tom Waits have surprise-released a new collaboration, ‘Boots on the Ground’. Sprawling over seven minutes, the brooding protest song is billed as a reflection on the broader political climate. It’s accompanied by a short film made with work by the documentary photographer known as thefinaleye, focusing on opposition to ICE raids, the militarisation of domestic forces, and state authoritarianism. Check it out below.
‘Boots on the Ground’ arrives just days after Massive Attack frontman Robert Del Naja was arrested at a recent Palestine Action protest. “It’s a career honour to collaborate with an artist of the magnitude, originality and integrity of Tom, but this track is arriving in an atmosphere of chaos,” the group said in a statement. “Across the western hemisphere, state authoritarianism and the militarisation of police forces are fusing again with neo-fascist politics. Seen within the American emergency, at home and overseas, this track contains pulses of callous impulse & abandoned mind.”
The track marks Waits’ first new material since 2011’s Bad as Me, with additional vocals by his son Casey. As an exclusive to vinyl B-side, Waits has also contributed a sardonic spoken word piece called ‘The Fly’. “One day many years ago I accepted an invitation from Massive Attack to collaborate,” Waits explained. “Way back then, we sent them ‘Boots on the Ground’. Their long release delay never worried me. Today, as in all of mankind’s yesterdays, guarantees this song will never go out of style. Man’s fiasco folly 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.”
On April 17, along with the film and track release, Massive Attack will publish an exclusive spoken word reflection on the themes of the work from the author Omar El Akkad. In addition to Massive Attack’s first new music in six years, it’s also the group’s first to be distributed under a Spotify exemption policy. Per a press release, “further releases are scheduled prior and subsequent to the band’s run of live performances.”
