MAYA

MAYA is M.I.A.’s most divisive and schizophrenic album, which is really saying something after the Third World underground boogie that was Kala. At times it’s a dingy punk/noise rock dirge which wouldn’t have sounded out of place in Suicide’s 70s output (makes perfect sense that she sampled them), and at others a celebration of tacky-but-ever-so-catchy Bollywood-like rhythms. MAYA, while wildly inconsistent, is the work of a singular artist who is never anything less than intriguing. (To put it very, very mildly.)

M.I.A. obviously grew up with an ear for both grunge rock and old school rap like NWA and Public Enemy, because, at several points throughout the record, she combines these two disparate elements to form something truly remarkable. Lead off sonic-stomp of a single, “Born Free,” takes Suicide’s “Ghost Rider” and adds an entire arsenal of power-tools and noises to make something truly cacophonic and indescribably boogie ready. “Meds and Feds” is an aggressively industrial track. Unlike most industrial rock which created a melody line and then distorted into something frightening or indescribably inhuman, “Meds and Feds” sounds like she walked into construction zones, war zones, factories and anywhere else where the noise level was at a ridiculously high volume to record what she heard and rapped over it. I mean that as a compliment.

But every so often, it’s an inconsistent affair – remember?, she creates a, you know, real song. Or cover’s one, as is the case with the raga-like “It Takes a Muscle.” If songs like “Space,” “Lovalot” and “Tell Me Why” prove anything, it’s this – on her next go around, and maybe she should stick with trying to craft real songs because she’s amazingly gifted at it. All of that noise really isn’t necessary, even if it can be dizzyingly wonderful or unsettling and disturbing.

But we must discuss her lyrics for a minute. I have always admired her penchant for expressing her political view points, for giving a been-there/done-that view of refugee suffering, cultural unrest and terrorist backgrounds. But on this album more than any other, she sounds willfully murky and muddy. What is she trying to express specifically? Is all of that noise distracting me from her voice, or is she really that lost in the mix at times? The artist’s role isn’t to explain their work, but I might need her help with this one. She has always been a master of agitprop, but this blurs that line mightily. Could it be that she’s finally addressing and embracing her inherent contradictions? She’s been a refugee, but now she’s married into a cushy lifestyle. She refuses to let go of where she’s been or where she’s going which makes for exciting work. Now, if only her ego would stop getting in the way so damn much. Buried somewhere deep within MAYA is a five-star EP. DOWNLOAD: “It Takes a Muscle”