Pashmina
09/06/2007, 17:00
Welcome to thr first of my album reviews. I'll be reviewing new/current albums, albums from years ago, and generally albums I love. I'll try and be as in-depth as possible, analysing each song, and then the album as a whole.
I used smilies to guage tracks roughly. It's ?/5 . Songs that get 2 or less knockouts get a "Fail".
I hope these reviews might open some people's eyes to some really good (and bad?) music that's around today.
Review 1
Artist - M.I.A
Title - Kala
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, (born 17 July 1977 in Hounslow, London, U.K.) is a British artist of Sri Lankan descent. As a baby she moved with her family to their native Sri Lanka, where her father became increasingly politically active in militant activities. As the Civil War escalated the rest of the family was forced to flee as refugees, first to India and then the UK. "M.I.A." ["Missing In Action"] references both her London neighbourhood (Acton) and her politically tumultuous youth.
Her style contains elements of hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro and baile funk and is strongly inspired by her Sri Lankan background.
from Last.fm
Kala is this talented woman's second album, but unfortunately, I don't own the first one, so no comparisons will be made, which might be a good thing or a bad thing. It's a very "heavy" album; strong on beats, low on the quiet ballads. In fact, those ballads are non-existent. So this is an all-out dance fest, infusing electic beats with sound effects and foriegn instruments which hark back to her heritage.
The album opens with the track Bamboo Banga, a heavy track, with a slightly filtered vocal, and lots of bass. It's very dancey though. It's got a steady beat, not too fast, nor too slow, just perfect actually. The lyrics are suitably strange and unusal so as not to pay much attention to them (Generally, she isn't a lyricist of much merit), but this doesn't detract from the song. The one gripe i'd have is it's length. At 4.58, it's the longest track on the album, and it does get repetitive after a while. It's definitely not the best the album has to offer.
Overall, it sets the tone well for the rest of the album, and is a good (but not the best) opening track.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
The next track is Bird Flu, which is a much more superior track to Bamboo Banga. It openes excitedly, with the whirr of something vaguely mechanical yet still tropical and exotic. I prefer the beat in this track to the opening track simply by preference. It's more ecstatic and a bit faster and energetic as a whole. Again the lyrics shouldn't be scrutinised too much, since that's not her main selling point. This is one of the toop tracks on the album, Imo.
It's a single. LINK TO VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDSnLcu2HTI)
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
The next track is one of the best IMO. Boyz follows the trend of being better than the previous track. The backing music is very energetic and joyous, and the use of crowd noises and some kind of asian singing increases the "flavour" of this song. The chorus is also a bit more infectious. It just a very dancey feel, and the song structure is stellar.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
It's a single. LINK TO VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9a1hGwWRP8&mode=related&search=)
Jimmy isn't one of my favourites, but it does have some very good beats in it. Very eastern, anyone will hear the influence of asian music. I think the main reasons I don't like it is the chrous and verses generally aren't catchy, interesting or particularly stimulating. The way she wails "Jeeemeee" just seems a bit off. The music does make up for it though. Not as good as the openers.
:knockedou :knockedou and 1/2
It's a single. LINK TO VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9_Dk_F98cU&mode=related&search=)
On the other hand, Hussel (feat. Afrikan Boy) is a much more enjoyable experience. The opening tribal "singing" and use of what sounds like animal sounds along with jungle beats and a dash of electronica is very cool. The chorus is a bit dissapointing, but the verses and the additional vocals from Afrikan Boy make for a very enjoyable song.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
The next track, Mango Pickle Down River (With The Wilcannia Mob) makes for a very different experience to the other songs. The wilcannia mob seem to be a group of Australian/New zealand children and sing most of the song, and though it's sounds like a wierd diary or something, the strange voices and the didgereedo (I think that's what it is) mix to make for a welsome "rest" after 5 very energetic songs.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
20 Dollar launches right back into the energy of the first 5 tracks, and opens with a striking electonic ensemble, before showering us in ambienced vocals and heavy bass. It's a very powerful effect. The backing tack as a whole is great, and it continues throughout the song. The song deals with poverty in a way, but again the lyrics aren't key, though they do lend slightly to the song. It's not quite as dance-orientated as Bird Flu or Jimmy, but it's not meant to be really.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
World Town once again opens with a vibrant start, and has a very eastern theme, which I really shouldn't keep mentioning, as that's the theme of the album. It's got some great beats, making it more danceable than 20 Dollar. The chrous is also catchy, and striking, which makes the package as a whole better.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
The next track is The Turn, which ditches the erratic openings in faour of smoother grooves and a more relaxed feeling. Even the "na-na-na"'s are slower and calmer. This technique of giving the listener a slower track to break up the heavier tracks is very successful, but unfortunately, unlike the unique Mango Pickle Down River (The other breaker), it's too filler, and not enough thriller. The only track that really does nothing for me.
:knockedou :knockedou FAIL
Yep, after the "break" with The Turn, M.I.A delivers another up-tempo, high energy track, XR2. The backing track is very cool, and makes up for what the track overall lacks vocals wise. The sound effects mid-song are also a nice touch.
:knockedou :knockedou and a 1/2
Next up is one of my favourite tracks, Paper Planes. The opening music is very smooth, and retro, and the vocal filtering adds something to the song. It's much more smooth than some of the previous tracks, but in a better than The Turn of even Come Around. The best part of the song by far is the chorus; "All I wanna do is *four gunshots*" and other sound effects. It's very striking, and works perfectly. She incorporates the gunshots amazingly well. Definitely one of the album's best. This should have ended the album IMO.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
Here's the final track, with the hottest producer in the business, Timbaland. Come Around (Feat Timbaland) discontinues the mediocre streak the second part of the album seemed to have, thankfully. The backing track is much more Rn'B, and the vocals and lyrics in generally much better. The chorus is nice too. Timbaland is also interesting to hear, and he doesn't detract from the track. Just a good track. It seems like a kinda anti-climax ending for such an energetic album though.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
Ok!
Out of 60, Kala scored a very respectable 40/60.
As a whole this album really works. However, if one dissects the songs too much, the album's weaker tracks really collapse. Especially the ones that only scored 2.5 and even the one that failed.
It's an album i'd recommend to anyone who likes dance/hip-hop music, but she really is a unique talent, crossing multiple genres.
Overall, I'd rate this album Good. It gets a respectable 67%
Thanks for reading.
EDIT: Videos for the singles added. I'm sure most of the other songs are on youtube somewhere too.
I used smilies to guage tracks roughly. It's ?/5 . Songs that get 2 or less knockouts get a "Fail".
I hope these reviews might open some people's eyes to some really good (and bad?) music that's around today.
Review 1
Artist - M.I.A
Title - Kala
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, (born 17 July 1977 in Hounslow, London, U.K.) is a British artist of Sri Lankan descent. As a baby she moved with her family to their native Sri Lanka, where her father became increasingly politically active in militant activities. As the Civil War escalated the rest of the family was forced to flee as refugees, first to India and then the UK. "M.I.A." ["Missing In Action"] references both her London neighbourhood (Acton) and her politically tumultuous youth.
Her style contains elements of hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro and baile funk and is strongly inspired by her Sri Lankan background.
from Last.fm
Kala is this talented woman's second album, but unfortunately, I don't own the first one, so no comparisons will be made, which might be a good thing or a bad thing. It's a very "heavy" album; strong on beats, low on the quiet ballads. In fact, those ballads are non-existent. So this is an all-out dance fest, infusing electic beats with sound effects and foriegn instruments which hark back to her heritage.
The album opens with the track Bamboo Banga, a heavy track, with a slightly filtered vocal, and lots of bass. It's very dancey though. It's got a steady beat, not too fast, nor too slow, just perfect actually. The lyrics are suitably strange and unusal so as not to pay much attention to them (Generally, she isn't a lyricist of much merit), but this doesn't detract from the song. The one gripe i'd have is it's length. At 4.58, it's the longest track on the album, and it does get repetitive after a while. It's definitely not the best the album has to offer.
Overall, it sets the tone well for the rest of the album, and is a good (but not the best) opening track.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
The next track is Bird Flu, which is a much more superior track to Bamboo Banga. It openes excitedly, with the whirr of something vaguely mechanical yet still tropical and exotic. I prefer the beat in this track to the opening track simply by preference. It's more ecstatic and a bit faster and energetic as a whole. Again the lyrics shouldn't be scrutinised too much, since that's not her main selling point. This is one of the toop tracks on the album, Imo.
It's a single. LINK TO VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDSnLcu2HTI)
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
The next track is one of the best IMO. Boyz follows the trend of being better than the previous track. The backing music is very energetic and joyous, and the use of crowd noises and some kind of asian singing increases the "flavour" of this song. The chorus is also a bit more infectious. It just a very dancey feel, and the song structure is stellar.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
It's a single. LINK TO VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9a1hGwWRP8&mode=related&search=)
Jimmy isn't one of my favourites, but it does have some very good beats in it. Very eastern, anyone will hear the influence of asian music. I think the main reasons I don't like it is the chrous and verses generally aren't catchy, interesting or particularly stimulating. The way she wails "Jeeemeee" just seems a bit off. The music does make up for it though. Not as good as the openers.
:knockedou :knockedou and 1/2
It's a single. LINK TO VIDEO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9_Dk_F98cU&mode=related&search=)
On the other hand, Hussel (feat. Afrikan Boy) is a much more enjoyable experience. The opening tribal "singing" and use of what sounds like animal sounds along with jungle beats and a dash of electronica is very cool. The chorus is a bit dissapointing, but the verses and the additional vocals from Afrikan Boy make for a very enjoyable song.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
The next track, Mango Pickle Down River (With The Wilcannia Mob) makes for a very different experience to the other songs. The wilcannia mob seem to be a group of Australian/New zealand children and sing most of the song, and though it's sounds like a wierd diary or something, the strange voices and the didgereedo (I think that's what it is) mix to make for a welsome "rest" after 5 very energetic songs.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
20 Dollar launches right back into the energy of the first 5 tracks, and opens with a striking electonic ensemble, before showering us in ambienced vocals and heavy bass. It's a very powerful effect. The backing tack as a whole is great, and it continues throughout the song. The song deals with poverty in a way, but again the lyrics aren't key, though they do lend slightly to the song. It's not quite as dance-orientated as Bird Flu or Jimmy, but it's not meant to be really.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
World Town once again opens with a vibrant start, and has a very eastern theme, which I really shouldn't keep mentioning, as that's the theme of the album. It's got some great beats, making it more danceable than 20 Dollar. The chrous is also catchy, and striking, which makes the package as a whole better.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
The next track is The Turn, which ditches the erratic openings in faour of smoother grooves and a more relaxed feeling. Even the "na-na-na"'s are slower and calmer. This technique of giving the listener a slower track to break up the heavier tracks is very successful, but unfortunately, unlike the unique Mango Pickle Down River (The other breaker), it's too filler, and not enough thriller. The only track that really does nothing for me.
:knockedou :knockedou FAIL
Yep, after the "break" with The Turn, M.I.A delivers another up-tempo, high energy track, XR2. The backing track is very cool, and makes up for what the track overall lacks vocals wise. The sound effects mid-song are also a nice touch.
:knockedou :knockedou and a 1/2
Next up is one of my favourite tracks, Paper Planes. The opening music is very smooth, and retro, and the vocal filtering adds something to the song. It's much more smooth than some of the previous tracks, but in a better than The Turn of even Come Around. The best part of the song by far is the chorus; "All I wanna do is *four gunshots*" and other sound effects. It's very striking, and works perfectly. She incorporates the gunshots amazingly well. Definitely one of the album's best. This should have ended the album IMO.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
Here's the final track, with the hottest producer in the business, Timbaland. Come Around (Feat Timbaland) discontinues the mediocre streak the second part of the album seemed to have, thankfully. The backing track is much more Rn'B, and the vocals and lyrics in generally much better. The chorus is nice too. Timbaland is also interesting to hear, and he doesn't detract from the track. Just a good track. It seems like a kinda anti-climax ending for such an energetic album though.
:knockedou :knockedou :knockedou
Ok!
Out of 60, Kala scored a very respectable 40/60.
As a whole this album really works. However, if one dissects the songs too much, the album's weaker tracks really collapse. Especially the ones that only scored 2.5 and even the one that failed.
It's an album i'd recommend to anyone who likes dance/hip-hop music, but she really is a unique talent, crossing multiple genres.
Overall, I'd rate this album Good. It gets a respectable 67%
Thanks for reading.
EDIT: Videos for the singles added. I'm sure most of the other songs are on youtube somewhere too.