Mathangi ‘Maya’ Arulpragasam, a.k.a. M.I.A., is clearly a troubled person: first, her Born Free video was removed from YouTube shortly after being released due to its depiction of nudity and graphic violence, then came the feud with the New York Times Magazine in which she was portrayed as a pampered hypocrite at odds with her own radical political views, and now, on her new album ‘/\/\ /\ Y /\’, she has finally succumbed to conspiracy theories about the internet being connected to the government via Google. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the film ‘Conspiracy Theory’ in which Mel Gibson plays Jerry Fletcher, a lonely and paranoid taxi driver who lives in a world of self-spun, well, conspiracy theories, but for obvious reasons ‘/\/\ /\ Y /\’ reminds me of exactly that film.
The album starts off with The Message, a short intro that informs you about said connection between “the Google and the government”, followed by Steppin' Up, a track that is heavily indebted to dubstep and features M.I.A.’s typical clattering sounds - drilling machines in this case - showcasing once more her affinity to the UK underground scene. Teqkilla and Story To Be Told are similar in their atonality, with beats which are as thick and dark as tar, and come closest to her signature sound.
Yet while M.I.A. is eager to prove to the rest of the world that she hasn’t lost touch with the base, she reaches out into more radio friendly territories at the same time. XXXO, the first official single, is a massively catchy tune with Top 40 written all over it, while the plastic reggae of It Takes A Muscle proves that there is a lighter side to M.I.A.’s otherwise intense persona. In It Iz What It Iz, an unusually introverted and melancholic track, she’s at her most vulnerable, revealing “they all got issues but I got a bit more”. Yet, as if she wants to conceal a moment of weakness, it is immediately followed by ‘Born Free’, the punkiest, angriest track on the record. It doesn’t really matter in the slightest that it rips off Suicide’s Ghost Rider, as it is grittier, punchier and more danceable than the original.
Yes, M.I.A. might be paranoid, even outright schizophrenic - so what? At least she has something other to say than the usual drivel abundant in today’s pop. And, just as I liked Jerry Fletcher in ‘Conspiracy Theory’, I like M.I.A. on ‘/\/\ /\ Y /\’. After ‘Arular’ and ‘Kala’, this is another remarkable album by a remarkable artist.