Whoa, it's lucky M.I.A is one hard-nut. Otherwise the scathing review posted by Pitchfork's Matthew Perpetua might cause tears. The album review for M.I.A's Maya (/\/\/\Y/\) didn't hold back on the keyboard punches. Check out some of these scathers:
"The record is a shambling mess, devoid of the bangers that characterized Arular and Kala, two of the stronger pop albums of the past decade. It aims to capture a technological and cultural zeitgeist in its over-stimulated, digitally degraded sound, but the songs are too flimsy to carry her bold conceit. Without compelling tunes, the obnoxious public antics, dubious political messages, and thin voice that had grated on her naysayers have become impossible for even dedicated fans to ignore. It's as if everything that was great about M.I.A. has been stripped from this music, leaving behind only the most alienating aspects of her art and public persona."
And there's more where that came from:
"It's hard to tell whether /\/\/\Y/\ is half-assed or half-baked. There are certainly a number of good ideas in the mix here, but the execution is lacking. Tracks like "Story to Be Told", "Lovealot", and "Teqkilla" come across like mild ly promising demos ready to be edited into sleeker, stronger compositions. Lead single "XXXO" sounds unfinished, as if everyone involved figured they may as well wait around for someone else to make a better remix."
M.I.A.'s new collaborators also cop it. You can check out the full review (yes, there's a hell of a lot more) on Pitchfork.
Something tells us M.I.A won't give a s***t. What do you think? Do you rate M.I.A? Do album reviews influence your music-buying decisions?
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