This has not been MIA’s year. First the Sri Lankan rapper gave The New York Times an interview only afterward to feel her words were twisted, prompting her to send out a nasty tweet blasting the journalist’s personal phone number out into the world [READ THAT STORY HERE]. Next, there was her lackluster show at Governor’s Island this past Saturday where fans began bailing after only the first few songs. Finally, there’s the release of her latest full-length studio album, /\/\Y/\, which immediately caused a stir with it’s controversial “Born Free” music video and banned from YouTube only days after going up. Although it was meant to measure up to her well-received 2007 recording, Kala, and has been eagerly awaited by fans for some time now, it seems the verdict is in and the reviews have been less than stellar.
/\/\Y/\ comes across as a slightly watered down version of the MIA we’ve come to know and love. Her controversy and politics is what defined her but it was her music that gave her a platform and outlet to convey these messages to the world. This album seems to cover only a fraction of what we know she is capable of. Even Mixmaster and Producer, Diplo, who has collaborated with MIA on past monster hits, including the smash ‘Paper Planes’, came forth regarding the studio process, saying, “She didn’t care about it…she didn’t write anything.” According to him, MIA immediately chose to go her own route, often ignoring Diplo and his Major Lazer partner, Switch when they would suggest a more steam-lined sound in comparison to the mash-up of uninspired ideas that resulted in /\/\Y/\’s overall sound.
Laid-back tracks like “Tell Me Why” and “ It Iz What It Iz” sound monotonous and fall flat, whereas some of her more amped-up selections; the over-processed “Teqkilla” and “Steppin Up” (equipped with power drills and the repetition of the phrase “Rub-a-dub-dub”) just seem disheveled and mediocre.This album seems heavy-handed and lackluster, with no decisive direction. The content is unstructured, with no clear hooks to grab the listener and audience. The pop and pizazz that seemed to explode from her last CD’s are clearly not present here.
MIA attempts to press a few buttons with the rant-filled “Internet Connection,” blasting the Government for making our society internet-obsessed and dependant on technology but even this seems to miss the mark. The chorus line, “I’m down like my internet connection/ I’m down” even seems silly and contrived. “Space” shows off her gentle vocals in a considerably stripped down tune as compared to the rest of the cluttered tracks. It’s melodious and has a gradual build-up but at the end of the day it’s only sub-par.
Not to say the whole album is awash, there are a few songs that have moments of solidarity, even if they are few and far between. “XXXO” is probably one of her shining songs throughout, although it’s most likely due to the fact that it’s not completely drowned out by drum machines like the rest of the record and the chorus has a poppy flow to it that sounds like vintage Madonna, although it’s unlikely that’s what MIA was going for.
“Born Free”, although a bit all over the place, still seems to encompass MIA’s original messages of discontentment with the ruling Government and humanity’s search for perfection (“You could try to find ways to be happier/ You might end up somewhere in Ethiopia/ You can think big with your idea/ You ain’t never gonna find utopia.”)
“It Takes A Muscle (To Fall in Love)” has a sunny, even-tempered Reggae-tinge to it while “Med and Feds” has an edgy repetitive guitar riff that adds a bit of a funky grunge effect but it only keeps the song from sounding overtly remixed and over-processed.
In the end, /\/\Y/\ is somewhat of an ambled mess of overlapping chorus’, loud pulsating noises and muddled thoughts with no real follow-through. Then again, this is America and as a forgiving country, MIA might be able to find her way back into our hearts if she can recreate the spark she once ignited in fans with the irrepressible drive found in her previous albums.
Release Date July 13, 2010
Track Listing
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
