Well, it beats "Maya", Mathangi Arulpragasm's 2009 sequel to the brilliant "Kala", which was released in 2007. There are still plenty of unnecessary instances of electroclash, most prevalent in "Only 1 U" and the fuzzy track "Lights", but as a whole "Matangi" feels much smoother than that jagged "Maya". This isn't necessarily what makes it a more enjoyable album, rather, it's the fact that nine years after her internet takeover in 2004, not only can M.I.A. get the dance floor moving, but she can do it with even more subtlety than ever before. This is in stark contrast to "Maya", which was about as garish as an M.I.A. album gets, so "Matangi" is a nice relief. Well, at least in a relative sense. Remember, four years separate this album from its predecessor, and in that time, Ms. Arulpragasm gave birth to her first child, and had the great fortune of being drafted for Madonna's electro-pom romp at the 2012 Super-Bowl, giving the audience the real show with her middle finger. It's clear that motherhood and being in her late-thirties have mellowed her sound (a bit), but "Matangi" is still standard-issue M.I.A. We start with a prelude, the meditative "Karmageddon", there's a skit thrown right in the middle, the apropos "Boom Skit", and then we also have a two-part saga dedicated to M.I.A. insisting that this is the best journey ever with "Exodus" and the better-still "Sexodus" (come on, you know that title was coming). But aside from these album highlights, there's lead single "Bad Girls", which harkens back to M.I.A.'s "Arular" days back in 2005, and is one of her most captivating singles in years. Don't worry, there's more where that came from, most apparent in "Y.A.L.A.", which tellingly takes down Drake's coining of the 'you only live once' motto to overtake the millennial generation in recent years. Most astonishingly, she is also savvy enough to include two sublime ballads, "Come Walk With Me" and "Know It Ain't Right". Both songs pretty much cover the same ground, but given M.I.A.'s subtle execution, they rise to the top of the pack. With all of the great material here, it's hard to understand why "Matangi" doesn't play as better than the sum of its parts. This is largely due to the lack of distinction between songs, because after a while, "Matangi" becomes increasingly claustrophobic, not by fault of the relaxed music. Rather, there's only so far the same old tricks can carry M.I.A. until she begins to sound disinterested. Also, a pair of not-good-at-all dance tracks, including the title song and the ludicrous "Bring The Noize", doesn't help the set up of "Matangi" as a collection of songs. It's hard to stay still, but on that same hand, this is also what brings this album above many the countless other electronic LPs to drop in 2013 . Subtlety runs through this record in both the verses and choruses, which is a treasure to have in the age of arrogance, but especially this far into M.I.A.'s career. "Matangi" proves that there's still more to learn about this powerful, yet mysterious, refugee who will always have countless ways to take down political issues while throwing the best dance party ever.
Recommended Tracks in Bold:
1.
Karmageddon 2. Matangi 3. Only 1 U
4. Warriors 5.
Come Walk With Me 6. aTENTion
7. Exodus 8. Bad Girls 9. Boom Skit
10. Double
Bubble Trouble 11. YALA 12.
Bring the Noize
13. Lights 14. Know It Ain’t Right 15. Sexodus
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