M.I.A. maintains her rebellious spirit, but ‘AIM’ doesn’t always hit its target
Colonialism and the inequity between First and Third World nations are not the usual stuff pop songs are made of, so when M.I.A. came along more than a decade ago, she had little competition.
She combined her experience as a Tamil refugee from Sri Lanka with experimental rap and dancehall music from London’s fringe music scenes. The British artist gained a name among her party-minded contemporaries, singing about unlikely subjects such as freedom fighters and closed borders.
Her fifth album, “AIM,†continues the rebellion, though in M.I.A. fashion, it’s an unpredictable mix of sharp, artful commentary, wildly creative song making and, despite the album’s title, plenty of aimless, indulgent meandering.
Inconsistency on an album is to M.I.A. what hit singles are to Taylor Swift — a given. It’s an approach that’s lowered her profile in a field she once dominated.
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Meanwhile her former partner in love and music, Diplo, has turned global groove into dancefloor gold. He removed unpleasant lyrics about poverty and war from his work, infused it with big, thumpy EDM beats and became one of the world’s top DJs and festival draws.
Though Diplo and M.I.A. have collaborated for a non-album remix of her bizarre new “Bird Song,†turning it into a more mainstream savvy track, on “AIM,†the Blaqstarr-produced song — and, indeed, record as a whole — is clearly an M.I.A.-driven production. Here she challenges you to sit through some of her most bizarre songs (“Jump Inâ€) in order to hear some of her best work (“Freedunâ€).
Indian instrumentation blends with electronic beat and pillow-soft backing vocals by former One Direction dream Zayn Malik on “Freedun.†This melodious and quirky single isn’t afraid of being too catchy, too pretty or too accessible, and that sets it part from a lot of M.I.A.’s more adamantly esoteric work.
With a sense of humor, she plays on stereotypes of macho cultures when she sing/raps, “I’m a swagger man, rolling in my swagger van, from the People’s Republic of Swaggerstan.â€
In “Finally,†M.I.A. (Mathangi “Maya†Arulpragasam) expresses a newfound freedom from her struggles with notoriety — and the scrutiny it brings. She’s been criticized by various Sri Lankan groups for her politicized artwork and lyrics, she’s feuded on Twitter with critics of her albums and flipped the middle finger to half of North America during her big moment performing at the Super Bowl with Madonna in 2012.
Here she forgoes clever wordplay and sings in sincere, unguarded tones about her efforts to rise above the fray. “What you’re here to say about me don’t worry me, I keep moving forward to what’s ahead of me. … You get stronger from adversity.â€
In “Survivor,†she states it another way: “Can’t carry feelings like a basket can’t carry water,†then justifies her reluctance toward fame: “Stars come and go, just like every empire.†Something that might sound trite in another artist’s hands is revealing in M.I.A.’s.
The Skrillex-produced “Go Off†is where M.I.A. gets her swagger on. It’s a compelling, percussive mix of Eastern sounds, dubstep heaviness and her harder, street-savvy raps: “There is no competition. I’m gonna talk and you gonna listen. I’m on 10 like men, even better than them.â€
But alongside M.I.A’s inspired numbers that shame the competition are the alienating ones that belie her insecurities about becoming too palatable.
Enter “Ali R U OK?,†a Middle Eastern flavored number that’s as hypnotic and cool as “Bad Girls†on one hand, but lyrically, sounds like she transcribed not-so-interesting text messages to a friend she’s trying to connect with. It just doesn’t work.
And in the album’s opening track “Borders,†she recites a list of grievances punctuated with the phrase “What’s up with that?â€: “Your privilege? Broke people? Your future? Your families? Your power? What’s up with that?†Is it about the apathy and ignorance of the First World toward the Third, or a stoned session with friends that likely made sense at the time, or really, is it even worth untangling?
The great thing about M.I.A. is that she’s not willing to compromise who she is to get ahead. The bad thing about M.I.A. is that she’s not willing to compromise who she is to get ahead.
She recently said that “AIM†would be her last LP ever, which is doubtful given that she still has plenty to say. But it is a reminder that no matter what’s at stake, M.I.A. will fight whatever’s expected of her, even if it means forsaking her own talent.
M.I.A. “AIM†(Interscope)
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