ALBUM REVIEW
by Shardae Jobson(released in the U.S. on July 13, 2010)
Maya (or frustratingly written as /\/\ /\ Y /\) is named after M.I.A. herself, so that may explain why there are so few lyrics, but plenty of assiduously industrialized, screeching clamoring--literally allowing the music to speak for itself, as the album is a combustingly loveable but dizzying real piece of work that listeners will find contingent of memorable songs--good and bad.
Production wise, Maya is stellar. Even when interestingly devoid of lyrics for a time, everything else that surrounds this empty space is vibrantly robust. When she does sing or rap, her words are so muffled, whatever new pirated anarchy inflicted theories she's once again trying to prescribe to us, go right over our heads, like on "Story to be Told", which we hope is just her paranoia talking out loud (as usual).
M.I.A. since her 2005 debut Arular, thought has yet to actually go platinum in sales (at least in the U.S.), has summoned herself, with enough support from cult fans and eager to please critics, as the kind of artist in when she drops a record, it becomes one of few sonically approved models to follow for its globalized tunes and refugee inspired lyrics and style (which became more solidified with the groundbreaking Kala). In the media, she's been praised and recently ridiculed for her sometimes obdurate or dubious persona ("Truffle fries" incident via The New York Times anyone? And especially towards another artists. Of course M.I.A. can't stand Lady Gaga apparently); yet Maya secures a common place in her career because it shows the softer side of Maya Arulpragasam despite the influx of noise pop on her latest venture. So, it is not because Maya pushes forth her more coquettish or delicate qualities that make the record more musically controversial than Arular and Kala. Maya is simply somewhat of a trite, messy record that in upcoming hindsight contains some future noteworthy tracks, there is something overall uncouth about it in comparison to her other releases .
What Maya lacks in developing stronger arguments about life and the struggle to survive is its oscillating and uproarious use of music from other genres and countries to a very likable effect. You hear M.I.A. (for the first time) lazily whine and confirm against beats that are straight out of a tender hearted Bollywood drama, or the scrappy electronic leftovers of a hazy Sunday morning. The Bollywood effect is particularly and politely grand and flowing on "Iz What It Iz" that also continues M.I.A.'s new use of a slightly syrupy singing voice, first heard on "XXXO".
"XXXO" is the one track on Maya that we can clearly hear Maya, and is certainly obtrusive to her entire catalog of songs because it's the most pop sounding clip she's ever done. It's quick and sparkly, as every other song on her third release is either monstrous (the overbearingly quixotic "Teqkilla") or charitable (the devoted "It Takes A Muscle"). As a single, it was off-putting at first to hear M.I.A. not only sound kinda pop on "XXXO", but also singing about some form of affection, as we all figured that Ms. Leader of Third World Democracy is too relaxed in admitting she too has feelings that aren't always looking for a fight. Just maybe little Ikhad (her baby boy) has something to do with this softer side of M.I.A.--at least on her album.
Production wise, Maya is stellar. Even when interestingly devoid of lyrics for a time, everything else that surrounds this empty space is vibrantly robust. When she does sing or rap, her words are so muffled, whatever new pirated anarchy inflicted theories she's once again trying to prescribe to us, go right over our heads, like on "Story to be Told", which we hope is just her paranoia talking out loud (as usual).
M.I.A. since her 2005 debut Arular, thought has yet to actually go platinum in sales (at least in the U.S.), has summoned herself, with enough support from cult fans and eager to please critics, as the kind of artist in when she drops a record, it becomes one of few sonically approved models to follow for its globalized tunes and refugee inspired lyrics and style (which became more solidified with the groundbreaking Kala). In the media, she's been praised and recently ridiculed for her sometimes obdurate or dubious persona ("Truffle fries" incident via The New York Times anyone? And especially towards another artists. Of course M.I.A. can't stand Lady Gaga apparently); yet Maya secures a common place in her career because it shows the softer side of Maya Arulpragasam despite the influx of noise pop on her latest venture. So, it is not because Maya pushes forth her more coquettish or delicate qualities that make the record more musically controversial than Arular and Kala. Maya is simply somewhat of a trite, messy record that in upcoming hindsight contains some future noteworthy tracks, there is something overall uncouth about it in comparison to her other releases .
What Maya lacks in developing stronger arguments about life and the struggle to survive is its oscillating and uproarious use of music from other genres and countries to a very likable effect. You hear M.I.A. (for the first time) lazily whine and confirm against beats that are straight out of a tender hearted Bollywood drama, or the scrappy electronic leftovers of a hazy Sunday morning. The Bollywood effect is particularly and politely grand and flowing on "Iz What It Iz" that also continues M.I.A.'s new use of a slightly syrupy singing voice, first heard on "XXXO".
"XXXO" is the one track on Maya that we can clearly hear Maya, and is certainly obtrusive to her entire catalog of songs because it's the most pop sounding clip she's ever done. It's quick and sparkly, as every other song on her third release is either monstrous (the overbearingly quixotic "Teqkilla") or charitable (the devoted "It Takes A Muscle"). As a single, it was off-putting at first to hear M.I.A. not only sound kinda pop on "XXXO", but also singing about some form of affection, as we all figured that Ms. Leader of Third World Democracy is too relaxed in admitting she too has feelings that aren't always looking for a fight. Just maybe little Ikhad (her baby boy) has something to do with this softer side of M.I.A.--at least on her album. Some saw "XXXO" as an succinct response and hidden parody to the state of popular music and how it seems if you're trying to make it or keep it moving in today's destructable music industry, in the artists' eyes, "you want be somebody who I'm really not". The danceable bubblegum pop feel of the track is also a different sound for Blaqstarr, who co-produced it, but it's also one of the better songs on Maya, that is actually obsequious to the David Guetta takeover of 2010.
"It Takes a Muscle" and "Lovalot" are the most honest, expressing the stress and allure of the vulnerability of love and triumph. The two songs, with great, smooth reggae throbs (the former innocuous--check out Diplo again doing the Jamaican pulsation, now with M.I.A.--and the latter macabre) were given the most personal lyrics of of all three of M.I.A's albums thus far as she proclaims "It takes a muscle to fall in love", and sharply declares in a warning voice, "I really love a lot. I really love a lot. I really love a lot--but I fight the ones that fight me".
There are also some classic M.I.A. rambunctious troublemaker music, along "Teqkilla" that includes the punk rock "Born Free" and the bombastic, guitar island of "Meds and Feds", produced by Derek Miller of (noise extraordinaire duo) Sleigh Bells that is anything but diffident.
The word "trite" was appropriate to describe the album because along with the pop sounds, M.I.A. hasn't been so simple in what she is discussing: love & life. Is this a Mary J. Blige CD with a decisive music persuasion?
What makes Maya sometimes an unusually concocted LP for M.I.A. is that none of the songs seem to be cohesive either. The LP comes across like a fan mixtape of some of their favorite tracks. As mentioned earlier, there are suddenly two facets of Maya we have to deal with: is she hard ("Born Free") or is she soft ("Tell Me Why")? It's not to say that she can't be ever-changing and should be chastised for making an album that steers slightly away from what she's known for, but the calm deviance in her voice and the more mainstream pop beats of a majority of the songs is completely unexpected and will likely jolt a avid fan of M.I.A. The effort is similar to that of MGMT's Congraluations, which was pointed out for purposely being divergent to their new millennium classic Oracular Spectacular. MGMT cajoled critics and fans to give their dissimilar sophomore LP a chance and even bemoaned the notion they should've stuck to some kind of formula to re-create Oracular Spectacular Part 2. M.I.A. doesn't seem to have any kind of hope that everyone will allow her to just make the kind of music she wants to make, but she also may have assumed she was in the process of another party album of transatlantic quality--but she didn't exactly make it to home plate.
It is the amazing swagger of the beats that steal the spotlight, as her work with Derek Miller, Blaqstarr, and rising DJ from England Rusko are highlights. The music on Maya has more range than Arular and Kala which is applaudable. Still, all twelve tracks do feel rushed and are a opened view into M.I.A.'s heart and soul, but leaves us wanting more on an annoyed note because there is no clear direction on Maya, making the LP strangely isolating. It is seems that Arulpragasam and her cabal of alternative pop provacatuers were definitely trying...the result is just rather underwhelming for an artist that wanted and became the poster child for all things multi-culturally boundary pushing. It looks as if M.I.A. may have to take a rest from that colorfully pious pedestal of hers for awhile--but is it possible that M.I.A. has also grown up a bit (musically) with all these love talk? It would make sense as to why she dedicated the album to herself.
THE BEST: "XXXO", "Teqkilla", "Iz What It Iz", "Meds and Feds", "It Takes a Muscle", "Lovalot", and off the deluxe edition, "Caps Lock"
"It Takes a Muscle" and "Lovalot" are the most honest, expressing the stress and allure of the vulnerability of love and triumph. The two songs, with great, smooth reggae throbs (the former innocuous--check out Diplo again doing the Jamaican pulsation, now with M.I.A.--and the latter macabre) were given the most personal lyrics of of all three of M.I.A's albums thus far as she proclaims "It takes a muscle to fall in love", and sharply declares in a warning voice, "I really love a lot. I really love a lot. I really love a lot--but I fight the ones that fight me".
There are also some classic M.I.A. rambunctious troublemaker music, along "Teqkilla" that includes the punk rock "Born Free" and the bombastic, guitar island of "Meds and Feds", produced by Derek Miller of (noise extraordinaire duo) Sleigh Bells that is anything but diffident.The word "trite" was appropriate to describe the album because along with the pop sounds, M.I.A. hasn't been so simple in what she is discussing: love & life. Is this a Mary J. Blige CD with a decisive music persuasion?
What makes Maya sometimes an unusually concocted LP for M.I.A. is that none of the songs seem to be cohesive either. The LP comes across like a fan mixtape of some of their favorite tracks. As mentioned earlier, there are suddenly two facets of Maya we have to deal with: is she hard ("Born Free") or is she soft ("Tell Me Why")? It's not to say that she can't be ever-changing and should be chastised for making an album that steers slightly away from what she's known for, but the calm deviance in her voice and the more mainstream pop beats of a majority of the songs is completely unexpected and will likely jolt a avid fan of M.I.A. The effort is similar to that of MGMT's Congraluations, which was pointed out for purposely being divergent to their new millennium classic Oracular Spectacular. MGMT cajoled critics and fans to give their dissimilar sophomore LP a chance and even bemoaned the notion they should've stuck to some kind of formula to re-create Oracular Spectacular Part 2. M.I.A. doesn't seem to have any kind of hope that everyone will allow her to just make the kind of music she wants to make, but she also may have assumed she was in the process of another party album of transatlantic quality--but she didn't exactly make it to home plate.
It is the amazing swagger of the beats that steal the spotlight, as her work with Derek Miller, Blaqstarr, and rising DJ from England Rusko are highlights. The music on Maya has more range than Arular and Kala which is applaudable. Still, all twelve tracks do feel rushed and are a opened view into M.I.A.'s heart and soul, but leaves us wanting more on an annoyed note because there is no clear direction on Maya, making the LP strangely isolating. It is seems that Arulpragasam and her cabal of alternative pop provacatuers were definitely trying...the result is just rather underwhelming for an artist that wanted and became the poster child for all things multi-culturally boundary pushing. It looks as if M.I.A. may have to take a rest from that colorfully pious pedestal of hers for awhile--but is it possible that M.I.A. has also grown up a bit (musically) with all these love talk? It would make sense as to why she dedicated the album to herself.
THE BEST: "XXXO", "Teqkilla", "Iz What It Iz", "Meds and Feds", "It Takes a Muscle", "Lovalot", and off the deluxe edition, "Caps Lock"
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