M.I.A set out to create a more
spiritual and personal work in her fourth studio album, thus naming it Mantangi after the Hindu goddess of
music. Defining herself with a pop
radical person,a M.I.A lets her music gravitate towards different themes, yet
somehow always managing to maintain a certain flare of unorthodox rhythms that
keep her ever-changing and current. It may have only been three years since her
last album, but the anticipation surrounding Mantangi is respectfully earned as she returns to insert her
subversive agenda’s into concise pop packages.
It’s ironic that M.I.A purposely
aimed to make this a spiritually calming album with razorblade focus since Mantangi overall doesn’t articulate any
clear intent or purpose. Between songs like “atTENTion and “Sexodus,” the
lyrical content may be skewed in different directions, however, it doesn’t seem
to be a bad thing in M.I.A’s case. For “atTENTion,” the highly infectious chorus and massive beat drops makes it
a top contender on the album. However, the stand out track has to “Bad Girls”, which
makes brilliant hooks out of digitally altered phrases of “Live fast, die
young, bad girls do it well. My chain hits my chest when I’m banging on the
dashboard.” The song was released almost a year ago, but it is a welcome addition
to her latest album and shows that the pop-savvy songstress’ instincts remain
impeccably on trend.
Toronto R&B vocalist the
Weeknd assists M.I.A in not just one, but two strangely similar tracks “Exodus”
and “Sexodus.” What sets the trippy songs apart is that “Exodus” is more
instrumental based while also starting with a spoken-word intro. On the other
hand, “Sexodus” has various electronic sound effects that swirl around over
M.I.A’s mellifluous singing voice. Likewise, the lightly soulful vibe on “Know
It Ain’t Right” features her thin vocals jumping on top of the
multi-interpretive chorus of “I think we wanna get a little active. We know it
ain’t right, but we do it anyway.”
Even through her most personal
lyrics, M.I.A is able to create hooks that everyone can connect with on some
level. That is best seen on “Come Walk With Me,” the drum rattling, energetic
track with an easily catchy chant and “Bring The Noize,” the mystically
charming song with multi-layered vocal filters playing throughout. Her album
teases a lot of styles, especially in “Only 1 U,” which starts with a skipping
beat and continues with one of M.I.A’s strongest vocal deliveries. Mantangi adequately weaves together
M.I.A’s complexity, overactive imagination, and peculiar insight into a
collection of songs that show her progression into dizzyingly numbing
electronics.
Grade: B+
