ANOMALY //>

M.I.A.

MAYA [Deluxe Edition] [2010]
4/5

I wasn't sure what to expect from this album, not because i was worried about it being weak, but the few songs that leaked prior to the albums release didn't give me a strong indication of what this album would sound like. I figured we'd be offered the same sort of heavy electronica we always get from her, and we do for the most part, but when 'Born Free' hit the internet with it's epic 9 minute music video, it was obvious MIA was dabbling in a few new sounds.

The electric guitar that bashes it's way through 'Born Free' was a nice indicator of how loud and angry this album was going to be. We hear more of the rockier sound in songs like 'Steppin Up' and 'Meds and Feds', the latter also having the heaviest bass she's ever used in a song. It makes your ear drums explode.

Once the first official single hit, 'XXXO', there were even more signs of experimentation. The track is heavy on the electronica, but it was also very commercial sounding, which isn't very usual for MIA's music. With a bit more tweaking, the track could be given to a number of pop stars to sing. Some fans started complaining about MIA "selling out", frankly, i couldn't give a shit. The song was fantastic, and the more mainstream sound was a welcome change in my opinion. She isn't completely foreign to more commerical songs anyway, 'Paper Planes' is her biggest hit to date, and that follows a more accessible sound.

The album isn't too much of a departure though. There's still plenty of tradmark MIA in the songs, with some nice newer sounds and instruments introduced to freshen things up. The hypnotic 'Lovealot', and anthem sounding 'Tell Me Why' could have come off one of her previous albums, and you can't get anymore token MIA than the epic, 'Teqkilla', which runs for 6 minutes, and sounds like MIA amped up to 100, with every sound effect and beat thrown into a trippy none stop dance masterpiece. It really fucks with your head.

The only weak point in the album for me is the Carrabien sounding, 'It Takes A Muscle'. It's just boring. Reviewers seem to be name dropping it as a highlight though, so i'm in the minority on that one.
The deluxe edition comes with 4 extra songs, the stand outs for me being 'Illygirl' and 'Believer'.

Overtime, this may end up becoming my favourite MIA album. It's certainly her easiest one to listen to, and i like that she's given us a few new sounds to enjoy. I really like it.