MAYA - Matangi - All Tracks Reviewed And Analysed

11. "Y.a.l.a."

A Hindu retort to Drake's loathsome "YOLO," "You Always Live Again" features M.I.A. yelling her verses rather than her proclivity towards vocal understatement and letting the beats speak for itself. There's a brief spoken explanation of her belief from "back home" (the predominantly Hindu Sri Lanka, where M.I.A. spent her childhood) of reincarnation and karma, and it leaves one question: "if you only live once, how come we keep doing the same shit?" Good question, but the answer does not lie in this song, this album, or any of Drake's music.

12. "Bring the Noize"

The second single from the album, it is a reliable dose of the political musician M.I.A. has built herself up to be. Illustrating class dichotomy and international tensions over a thumping beat, she casually drops in my favorite lyrics on the album: "Truth is like a rotten tooth, you gotta spit it out. I left the bottom two, let my wisdom work it out." It sounds good no matter how you say it, but the way she says it is best: quickly, flying past them and onto the next thought. "Bring the Noize" is a loaded, and, appropriately, noisy but very fun song.

13. "Lights"

One of the more lighthearted songs on Matangi, it's still vaguely off-putting with such a prominent and close echo to her vocals, but it's pretty to listen to, with a simple beat as a backdrop to a narrative lyric exploring her emotions, how she copes with them, and her carefree spirit with a need for escape. True to her word, she evokes imagery of traveling through a brightly lit city and watching everything fly by. The simple instrumentals perfectly compliment the words expressing a simple desire, with a heavy dose of whimsy in the notes to ensure that the song doesn't get weighed down by the levity of her need for a break.

14. "Know It Ain't Right"

As the album slows down in the final tracks, "Know It Ain't Right" bears a tinge of sadness but still manages to tread the thin line of emotional ambiguity. Tumultuous but creatively constructed, this track makes great use of several layers of vocals and minimal AutoTune for a sound that's pure without being too clean.

15. "Sexodus"ft. The Weeknd

The second track featuring The Weeknd, this is identical to "Exodus" except in one way: the beats are slightly different. "Sexodus" is softer, more exotic-sounding, definitely an effective closer as the repetition of M.I.A.'s line, "tell me what for," over a muted beat is a soft, ideal way to finish an album that has been anything but. This is obviously also an entirely unrelated comment, but it's possible this track was put here just so very tired music reviewers think they might be going crazy and had accidentally repeated a track by mistake. It's not a mistake. M.I.A. really does want to drive everyone crazy. Mission accomplished. M.I.A. has said in the past that her record label initially told her the album was "too positive." Indeed, the wording is far more upbeat and less dark than past albums and also tend to lack her signature depth, but the music itself feels gritty and dark, sometimes to a fault. Where some of her initial charm stemmed from her politically charged and blunt lyrics over deceptively lighthearted dance songs, this seems like the opposite. Though Matangi is a welcome addition to her discography and certainly a triumph after her last album, those who were attracted to her music initially for her old delivery may be a bit disappointed. From an objective standpoint, however, the album is an enjoyable work, whether ingested in pieces or listened to straight through.