Haiku Review - Maya by M.I.A.

Haiku Review of M.I.A.'s Maya

Look past all the noise
Find a frustrated record
More hits than misses

Notes: In order to give this record its fairest shake, one must strip away all the recent anti-hype bullshit surrounding M.I.A. (i.e. TruffleGate). Let it be said that this album is not The Last Airbender of music, nor is M.I.A. the M. Night Shyamalan of pop -- Maya is not the travesty its being hailed as.

It is, however, a disappointment. Especially when compared to the fan-adored/critically-acclaimed Arular and Kala, Maya's successes are far less obvious, which makes for a pretty difficult listen; not something most look for from a dancehall-pop artist whose last hit was featured in a Judd Apatow movie.

While Maya is a tough album to crack, there's plenty to be mined from all the noise, dissonance, and artistic confusion. Of the albums twelve original tracks (excluding the bonus iTunes cuts), I consider seven to be solid and accessible ("It Takes a Muscle" being a personal favourite). The rest sound either unfinished ("Lovalot") or are bogged down by overproduction and choke on their hyperactive concepts ("Teqkilla").

Each track on Maya fits firmly in one of two camps: more "traditional" pop or M.I.A.'s newly-adopted industrial aesthetic, the most successful example of the later being "Steppin' Up," with it's power-drill samples and Ministry-riffs. In terms of the mainstream, tracks like "Tell Me Why," "XXXO," "Space," and "It Iz What It Iz" attest that M.I.A. still understands how to write for the radio.

M.I.A.'s recent antics and attributions have made her a polarizing figure in both the blogosphere and at the dinner table; this LP will only add to her unstable mythology. After only a handful of listens, it's clear that Maya is an album made by a frustrated artist, one that is purposely challenging and unintentionally half-baked, but not the wash its being made out to be.

Maya Tracklist:
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

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It Takes a Muscle - M.I.A. Removed by Request
Space - M.I.A. Removed by Request
Steppin' Up - M.I.A. Removed by Request
Born Free - M.I.A. Removed by Request

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