LISTEN: Massive Attack & Tom Waits share new song "Boots on the Ground"
- Colin Desmond
- Apr 16
- 2 min read
After a week of cryptic teases, Massive Attack have finally unveiled “Boots on the Ground,” a stark, slow-burning collaboration with Tom Waits that feels as heavy with context as it does with sound. The pairing alone is enough to turn heads—this marks Massive Attack’s first new material in six years, and, perhaps more strikingly, Waits’ first original release in 15. It doesn’t play like a comeback so much as a transmission: deliberate, uneasy, and impossible to ignore.
The track arrives alongside a companion film co-directed by the band and U.S. photo artist thefinaleye, extending the project’s sense of urgency beyond the music itself. The visuals pull directly from a web of real-world data, citing research and statistics from organizations including the American Immigration Council, the ACLU, and the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, among others. It’s less a traditional music video than a piece of agitprop—part documentary, part warning flare.
Massive Attack have also pointed listeners toward a series of advocacy and information hubs, encouraging further engagement with the issues threaded through the film. It’s a move consistent with the band’s long-standing fusion of music and political consciousness, but here it lands with renewed weight, amplified by Waits’ gravel-worn presence.
With tour dates on the horizon—including a stop at Primavera Sound—the release of “Boots on the Ground” feels less like a standalone moment and more like the opening salvo of a broader return.
Massive Attack – 2026 Tour Dates
May 27, 2026 – Helsinki, Finland – Veikkaus Arena Parkhallen
May 30, 2026 – Rättvik, Sweden – Dalhalla
Jun 1, 2026 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
Jun 4, 2026 – Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound 2026
Jun 7, 2026 – Berlin, Germany – Freilichtbühne Zitadelle (Spandau)
Jun 8, 2026 – Brussels, Belgium – Forest National
Jun 11, 2026 – Porto, Portugal – Primavera Sound Porto 2026
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