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Arular
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| Editorial Reviews: | | |  | | M.I.A.'s debut record is both intensely urban and aggressively modern. The group's sole member, Maya Arul, infuses her blend of hip-hop and chunky electro with raw, tribal overtones and a healthy dose of sex appeal. There are elements of world music here, in Arul's multilingual vocal as well as the tonal shifts and instrumentation (like the drone that opens up "Hombre"). Her delivery uses a variety of yelps and tics full of street-wise confidence and bratty energy. But there's also an appealing melodic sense, like early Neneh Cherry or Miss Kitten when she's not in diva mode. M.I.A. doesn't really sound like anybody; the music is just experimental enough to wiggle out of easy comparisons. The IDM-style bleeps and beeps of "Galang," for example, give an already catchy song extra punch. The only problem with the record, a common flaw for debuts, is a sameness from track to track which robs it of the ability to surprise. Still, Arul is hugely talented and her abundant originality packs a wallop. --Matthew Cooke | |
| Custom Reviews: | |
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| Maya's style really does deserves attention! | |
| | Her first track really got my attention around August 2005. I first seen her video "Galang" on the "Yahoo Launch". M.I.A.'s first record is great! It is such an interesting style of dance music and the politics intertwined in it make it intellectual too! Mainly though, this music will have you dancing and repeating the smart and catchy lyrics. M.I.A. has no qualms about mentioning bombs, guns, terrorists and racism in her songs.
Straddling the great musical divide, M.I.A. sticks her tongue out at the mainstream and moons the underground with a sound that both betrays and praises the music of her peers. She borrows from hip-hop, dancehall, reggaeton, electro-clash, drum 'n' bass and world music yet creates a sum different from the parts using little more than a drum machine and her own lyrical might.
Her debut album, Arular (XL/Beggar's Banquet), is a Masala of planet-rock beats and batucada cut ups set off by a delivery so cadent, it's the percussive force behind the album. M.I.A.'s most successful when she's letting loose over a dancehall rhythm, her cockney-Jamaican accent punctuating each low-end blast with proclamations of her prowess on the mike. Such is the nature of her MCing, which can be heard to blistering effect on the single "Fire Fire," on which she dismisses her peers, asserting, "Competition coming' up now/ Load up and fire, fire bo!" This is to say there's no match for M.I.A. Even comparable British MCs like Ms. Dynamite, The Streets and Dizzy Raskal fall short if only because they lack the sexual je ne se quoi that M.I.A. shamelessly exudes.
Moreover, where her countrymen exist solely within the British two-step tradition, M.I.A. is a welcome every woman coming off like a basement (Jamaican party) queen rocking a favela (Brazilian ghetto) bass line. All the while, hers is a patois that can only be heard on the streets of London, yet for all the musical globetrotting, M.I.A. has found a space that's all her own. My favorite tracks are "Pull Up The People", "Bucky Done Gun", "Fire Fire", "SunShower", Hombre, "URAQT," and "Galang".
I do agree with the some of the reviewers when they stated that it's only recommended to those who like different and less commercial approaches to music. This album might be a bit to raw for you due to it's political/sexual nature, especially If you don't understand this recording. It is important to appreciate it's significance and to appreciate how innovative it is. If you're not going to buy it, at least give it a listen... Maya's style deserves attention!
| | | M.I.A. is truley a unique presence in music today. Her beats are fantastic, her political messages relevant and very current, and she represents for strong women everywhere. An icredible album, intelligent and thought provoking. A must have for music fans with brains and political interests.
| | | | I don't know why Mr. Cooke thinks that the songs are a bit repetitive, I didn't find that at all. M.I.A. is political, unique with a strong sense of grrrrl-power. She's what the industry needs more of... Favourites: Galang, Sunshowers, Hombre, and pull up the people- but all the songs are great. The remix to Galang (if you can find it) is also amazing. If you like her, check out K'naan, a Canadian hip hop artist. He possesses that same originality and political edge for which M.I.A. is known.
| | | M.I.A.'s Arular is unique and creative, thought provoking and ultimately entertaining. It is a challenging first listen, but it is so infectious... I am still listening after months of play. It is not an album for everyone and it definitely has dubious commercial appeal, but Arular's blend of South Asian rhymes, political commentary and heavy electronica is, in my opinion, absolutely brilliant.
| | | Save your money or purchase a hammer when you buy this cd because all you'll want to do is hit yourself in the head for buying it in the first place. If not for that then you'll be hitting yourself just so you don't have to hear this woman's whinney voice, trust me. I bought this album just a few days ago and all I can say is..
Well, you get the point..
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