In the time span between M.I.A.'s sophomore album, Kala, and her latest release, "/\/\/\Y/\" (Maya), quite a few notable items have occurred in her life. "Paper Airplanes" had a resurrection thanks to Seth Rogen and Slumdog Millionaire, there was the vastly talked about Grammy performance, and she gave birth to a son the day after the Grammy performance. So with all these pretty positive things, what comes out of her new album?
Rainbow and butterflies.
Shea. Right.
In all seriousness however, of all three albums this one is the one that is most love-felt. While she doesn't declare her love to anything or anyone in this one, a tender yet sexual beat is coming from it's heart. That and infatuation for information tech (with songs like "Internet Connection" and "Caps Lock") and her signature political angst.
Opening Maya is a minute long intro titled The Message. What's the message? "Head bone connected to the head phone connected to the iPhone connected to the government". The lyric delivery sounds like a less magical Fujiya & Miyagi's "Collarbone." It swiftly yet coarsely transitions into "Steppin Up,"an attitude packed song that carries too many electronic metal works in the background to keep you focused on the otherwise catchy beat and words. While "Steppin Up" was making me doubt Maya (my thoughts were "oh noooo this album is going to be just as ugly as her cover!!") "Xxxo" and "Lovalot" brought it all back. Who would have thought that the more girl-y, sexy, and sultry tracks would be her strongest. "It Takes a Muscle" also refers back to l-o-v-e. "It takes a muscle to fall in love" she sings through a sweet robotic voice. This track makes me think like this would be the outcome of Jamaicans finding a synth player jammin' at the beach. Acwakrd huh? Another one of my favorite tracks is "Born Free." You might already be familiar with it since it's video was quite controversial due to it's violence and ginger killing. The reason I love this one is because it takes clues from some of my favorite people Bjork (think of "Declare Independence" from Volta), Le Tigre, and Dead Kennedys. Its not until you start dissecting it that you realize that this a pretty incredible song.
So this whole time I've been talking about how great all these songs are, yet one has to remember that there are 16 tracks to Maya, and some of them are rather underwhelming. It's not that they suck from the get-go, the problem is that they start out strong then halfway through they turn bland, and she seems to get carried away with all the background knick-knacks. However, I have to say those tracks still wouldn't deter me from getting this album. I'm totally approving the fact that she has infused other emotions, and the beats are still pretty sweet.
Track list:
1. The Message
2. Steppin’ Up
3. XXXO
4. Teqkilla
5. Lovalot
6. Story to Be Told
7. It Takes a Muscle
8. It Iz What It Iz
9. Born Free
10. Meds and Feds
11. Tell Me Why
12. Space
13. Internet Connection
14. Illygirl
15. Believer
16. Caps Lock
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