M.I.A.’s unique fusion of bhangra, hip-hop, electro and punk has become what you least would expect of it: stale. When the Sri Lanka-born, London-raised singer broke onto the scene in 2005 with Arular, her wildly creative synthesis of disparate genres, combined with a world music bad girl image and knowingly provocative political sloganeering won her instant acclaim and recognition. Her music was brilliant; playful but at the same time legitimately interesting and refreshing. With the propulsive experimentation of tracks like “Galang” seeming like a genuine musical call to arms.
However, times of late have not been easy. The 2010 album Maya sold a mere forth of the successful Kala with its inescapable breakthrough hit “Paper Planes”. She came under increased public scrutiny for her motives and with her all-important authenticity being questioned, M.I.A. has provided a solid new effort that will probably silence the haters to some extent. But that’s the problem – it never really goes beyond being solid. Matangi has been delayed for over a year – and it sounds it. “Bad Girls” has been overplayed on adverts and radio for a long time. Nothing sounds fresh. An artist, who seemed legitimately rebellious in 2005, now seems a bit predictable. M.I.A. in an interview said that Matangi was a combination of all her previous albums and whilst this is true, she never really breaks new ground like she did before.
The album title comes from that of the Hindu God of music who is also, tellingly, the god of waste. It’s the latter to me that sounds more appropriate. It’s an interesting album, don’t get me wrong – but it’s an album without purpose, that doesn’t really achieve anything, or please anyone but M.I.A. herself. Having already said much of what she has to say on previous LP’s M.I.A. comes across a little like a rebel without a cause.
“Bad Girls” and “Bring the Noise” are great singles and sonically they are immensely compelling, with the stuttering beats and playground rhymes that will bring all but the stalest souls to action. An album highlight “Come Walk With Me” takes a break from noise and aggression of the other tracks, and slows down, delivering strong melody and strong structure. Its look back to the Britpop of yesteryear works wonderfully and seems more authentic to the music she grew up with. It’s no wonder that it’s moments like this, when M.I.A goes beyond her riot grrl world music shtick, that she really utilises her talents, which are many. On another track “Exodus” she takes her first attempt at a ballad, and very successful one. However “Y.A.L.A” with its Drake referencing and big bro-step drops seems slightly behind in 2013.
I like Matangi, but I can’t escape the feeling that it’s just leftovers. It’s enjoyable in individual parts but as a whole it’s something of a contradiction in terms: a musical rebel, exploring activist politics, but staying in the same comfortable musical niche, relying on the same shock tactics to stir up a reaction. Matangi is not a bad album, and in many ways it’s above average, very above average – but it’s the first album M.I.A. has produced where she hasn’t utilised at least some of her considerable talents and rich musical and cultural influences to any great extent: and that’s a tragedy.