"Man's fiasco folly is a feast for the flies": Tom Waits returns with first new material in 15 years

A seven-minute track, "Boots on the Ground" combines the Bristol duo's signature production and melodies with horns and percussion that are unmistakably Waits, and a vocal that has mellowed a little since his last recorded work.

The song first took shape, according to the now 76-year-old Waits, some years back after Massive Attack invited him to collaborate. “Way back then, we sent them ‘Boots on the Ground’," he explained in a statement. "Their long release delay never worried me. Today, as in all of mankind’s yesterdays, guarantees this song will never go out of style.”

The song arrives alongside a political film and an eco-conscious vinyl pressing. The evocative, high-intensity montage comes in the aftermath of the largest public protests in American history - focused on opposition to ICE raids, the militarisation of domestic forces, and state authoritarianism.

Waits has also contributed a second track as the vinyl B-side – a droll and sardonic spoken word piece entitled “The Fly”. "Man's fiasco folly is a feast for the flies," Waits notes. "Hence, the B side of Massive Attack’s upcoming 12 inch 'The Fly' features my appreciation for the winged nuisance."

Massive Attack has framed the collaboration as both an artistic milestone and a response to current political conditions: “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 band say. “Across the western hemisphere, state authoritarianism and the militarisation of police forces are fusing again with neo-fascist politics.”

"Boots on the Ground" also features Tom's son Casey who does not share his father's approach to productivity, having released six albums in the last two years as Casey X Waits. The elder Waits' last major live performance was at a tribute concert for producer Hal Willner in April 2022, at Brooklyn's St. Ann's Warehouse, where he performed "Shenandoah". His last television performance was on 14 May 2015, on the last ever Late Show with David Letterman, where he sang "Take One Last Look", a song written specifically for Letterman's final appearance. The song has never been officially recorded.

For Massive Attack, the release comes ahead of the band’s European tour and summer festival appearances, including Primavera Sound in Barcelona and Fuji Rock in Japan. It's the first release for the band distributed under a Spotify exemption policy, with further recordings promised before and after their live run.

The vinyl edition of Boots on the Ground is being manufactured using 100% recycled PET (rPET) rather than traditional PVC, through a partnership with Good Neighbor. The process is described as energy-efficient injection moulding, with sleeves made from recycled, FSC®-certified paper stock. The record is mixed at random in red, white and blue. Massive Attack will donate all profits from vinyl sales to the American Civil Liberties Union and the US Immigrant Defense Project.

Alongside the film and track, the band will publish a spoken word reflection on 17 April from novelist Omar El Akkad, author of American War and What Strange Paradise. The film credits statistics and research from sources including the American Immigration Council, the US National Library of Medicine and Privacy International, with viewers directed to aclu.org and immigrantdefenseproject.org for further action.