When you think of Tom Waits, the idea of collaboration is not usually something you’d consider a priority. He’s taken a co-credit with others in the past, of course – most notably with Crystal Gayle on the ‘One For The Vine’ soundtrack – but you’re more likely to find Tom taking the reins and marching to the beat of his own very distinctive drum. However, ‘Boots On The Ground’ finds him joining the legendary Massive Attack for an oppressive and beat-laden recording that really works.

From the outset, the track isn’t shy in advertising a mid tempo when a stomping beat is joined by an almost mechanical groove, slowly pounding out a repetitive musical hook. Sounding like a throwback to parts of ‘Mule Variations’ and ‘Real Gone’, it’s certainly more Waits than Massive Attack on first impressions. Behind Tom’s trademark rasp, though, the slowish but relentless arrangement also shares a few interesting flourishes: a light piano melody – sounding not unlike one of former member Craig Armstrong’s film scores – and a blanket of electronic sound wavers are unmistakably the hand of Massive Attack revisiting some of the darker sounds from their past.

With the rhythmic elements interspersed by haunting wails and militaristic drums, the recording takes an even more sinister turn in places, and that’s before you take the lyrics into consideration. An angry indictment against America’s spiral into hate and darkness over the past six years, this is a striking and harrowing work indeed. Marking a return to recording for the first time in fifteen years, Tom couldn’t have helped to create anything more impactful.