M.I.A. – /\/\/\Y/\

Here is our friend Richard’s final album review as a guest writer for EnterTheShell.com …

But fear not! I would like to take this opportunity to announce that Richard is now a permanent member of the staff! With more writers to serve you better, we here at ETS want to make sure that our fans get as much musical information as possible and we hope Richard will help serve this purpose! We are all committed to you, ETS-ers! So keep an eye out for Richard’s blogs!

For the past year a small ruckus has erupted and festered in the mostly white and wealthy suburbia that is Brentwood, California. A “digital ruckus” to be in fact; at least that’s what M.I.A. (born Mathangi Arulpragasam) has labeled the theme of her third album /\/\/\Y/\ (pronounced Maya, it is a topographic version of her nickname) and that’s what it is through in through. The lyrics, the music, the message and even the album cover give the sense of chaos.

Known for taking politically charged ideas and incorporating them into pop-based hooks and verses sung over complex twists of obscure drum and electric instruments, M. I. A. turns the complexity up 100 percent with this outing.

This is perhaps her most ambitious piece of work yet, proceeding with aggressive music that hardly looks back. Produced, recorded and mixed in M.I.A.’s Brentwood home, she teams up with an array of producers, including dub step producer/DJ Rusko for five tracks. The work with Rusko definitely upgrades her bruiser status. “Teqkilla” showcases the duos ability to create madness. Multiple effects on M. I. A.’s voice, a bunch of samples and sound bites and an endless array of percussion choices seems like too much to combine, but they pull off a song whose effect is as devilishly pleasant as the liquor the song title is a play off.

Although the lead single “Born Free” rose to popularity after its controversial video debuted, depicting the senseless gathering and eradication of red heads, it is trumped by a number of other tracks throughout the album.

For instance, the two songs that she collaborated with former item Diplo are two of the best listens. “It Takes A Muscle” takes the light strumming of a traditional Reggae song and puts a organ-like synth effect on it, while the chorus, it takes a muscle/ to fall in love, begins with a normal recording of her voice and warps it into a martian/helium type voice as it ends. Then there’s “Tell Me Why” that has M. I. A. belting on light auto tune while the Alabama Sacred Harp Singers are sampled on freakishly demented loop in the background.

One of the most noteworthy and epic moments of the album is the last track “Space.” The work Rusko and M.I.A. have done on this album are incredibly key to making this album another piece of quality art, along with Arular and Kala. What better way to end it then with the two on this track that emulates everything the song title is about? Slow paced space-walking bass synths coupled with the echo/reverb friendly effect on her voice giving the impression she is singing from an astronaut’s helmet while her voice seems to carry across the cosmos.

My lines are down, you can’t call me/as I fly around in space odyssey. These are the last two lines sung by M.I.A. on the album. This album is ridiculously great, and she knows it’s great. She didn’t listen to or let anyone influence her and she did what she wanted. There is no way to tell her otherwise cause she is in her own world. M.I.A. sings the music, but Maya is the music.

Buy the album at our record store on Amazon

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