ALBUM REVIEW: M.I.A. - /\/\/\Y/\

-3.2

The entire staff here at THIS BAND IS AWSM is really disappointed with M.I.A. We were all dying to hear the most recent release from, truly, our favorite exotic popstar. Arular, Kala… these are great albums! These are albums I can run to at the gym, my feet pounding on the treadmill to the quickening beat of high school band tunes in XR2. Or U.R.A.Q.T.? Her honest (although admittedly both adorable and frightening) approach to modern cell phone technology is revolutionary. Regardless of her political messages, this sort of critique on modern culture really hits home with the less newspaper-oriented crowds.

And don’t get me started on Paper Planes. The circulation of that song alone is enough to turn the music industry inside out. I mean, we obviously all knew about it when it was just a fun indie-pop track on Kala. But when that song hit mainstream radio and MTV a year and a half later, it succeeded at bridging the gap between us and them, you know?! The popular kids were blasting Paper Planes out of their cars at the mall; M.I.A. concert crowds could fill Madison Square Garden, and with a significant overlap of fans from Dave Matthews Band and Pussy Cat Dolls shows alike! It was a beautiful thing.

But seriously M.I.A., who the fuck do you think you are coming back with this /\/\/\Y/\ bullshit? Where’s the universal track? Where are the dance beats? I mean, I’ll bump and grind to “Teqkilla” if I have to, but I’d really love another option. What are you even DOING!? Are you trying to change? Are you producing something different from other albums? I really don’t think that’s a good idea. For starters, this low-production concept seems pretty garbage. Granted, I didn’t bother to download the hi-quality version before reviewing this, I figured the radio rip leak from a month ago was adequate. But honestly, did the producers even bother listening to it before packaging it and leaking it on rapidshare? There’s noise rock, glitchs, synthy riffs, pounding, buzzing… I don’t know what to say other than that those noises all suck, and M.I.A. really should have picked up on that.

Additionally, M.I.A. has even gone sloppy with naming. All the slashes in the album titles make it really hard for bloggers like us to talk about it without copying and pasting, which can get rather frustrating. A decent artist would put out an album with a memorable title, for obvious PR benefits.

Tons of other renowned musicians worked on this album, from Diplo to Sleigh Bells. We love Diplo and Sleigh Bells(!) , but their contributions to this M.I.A. album just aren’t what we’re looking for. Listen, guys: we want the pop trax we know and love from our Indian sensationalist, none of this “Born Free” bullshit. Srsly. /\/\/\Y/\ is overall too slow and too b0ring. Maybe next time Maya, maybe next time.

[That would be a negative 3.2 rating, btw]

For more on M.I.A.’s new album read music blog Pitchfork’s spot-on review here.