Tom Waits hasn't made a full studio album, if you can call what Waits does when recording new work something done in a "studio," since 2011. Until this week, he hadn't created a new single since 2018, and even then, he was a guest on an album. The latter changed on Thursday, though.
Waits delivered a track in conjunction with Massive Attack called "Boots on the Ground." Don't mistake this for some pro-Iran War tune, though. The tune is very tongue-in-cheek and has more to do with domestic affairs than global affairs. The trick is that there is a global reach to the idea of the tune.
The profits from sales of the vinyl edition of the song will be donated. The money will go to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the US Immigrant Defense Project. If those foundations didn't imply the lyrics of the track's leanings, then you might never understand them. \
Tom Waits and Massive Attack's collaboration is impactful and worthy of being heard
To be sure, what Waits and Massive Attack created is good music, though not pop music. That has always been the magic of both artists: They can make a song, album, or project, and it can be more worthy than almost anything ever heard on the radio. Great artistic value doesn't lie in commercialism, but in the intent behind what has been made.
As for "Boots on the Ground," the track is not an easy listen, but it is well-conceived and produced. It begins with the heavy breathing of seeming distress, and, coupled with the video that accompanies the track, one knows this is going to have an impact.
Nearly a minute in, a scaled-down beat, which could be stolen straight from Tom Waits' "Earth Dies Screaming," is heard. The track might actually take the instrumentation from that iconic tune.
That is when Waits begins emoting, and there should be little doubt about what he is trying to convey. He speaks at times from an ICE agent looking to do a job they were sent to do, which is viewed as morally wrong by many. One would know from Waits' previous political intentions that he is not in any way aligning himself with ICE, but instead attempting to expose the group.
Halfway through the somber tune is a relatively long instrumental that lasts for much of the second half of the track. Tom Waits overlays lyrics through the remaining three minutes, sure, but the subject of the track is clear. Moreover, what you hear from the video near the end is only a repeat of the heavy breathing from the start.
No one can misinterpret the intention. The breathing isn't happy sounds. The track isn't either. That's not the point. "Boots on the Ground" is a statement, and it is a great one.
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