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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
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Arular
by M.I.A.
This short but wildly eclectic debut album from Maya Arulpragasam, a Sri Lankan-born, London-based artist and daughter of a Tamil Tiger revolutionary, is preceded by enormous buzz in both the U.K. and the U.S.
| LABEL: |
Beggars Banquet / XL |
| RELEASE DATE: |
22 March 2005 |
| DISCS: |
1 disc |
| GENRE(S): |
Electronic, Dancehall, Rap |
NOTES: Shortlisted for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize.
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
100
Spin
Will likely be the best political album this year. [Mar 2005, p.88]
100
Stylus Magazine
It’s a swaggering, spitting, utterly contemporary album of politically dissident, sexually forthright Anglo-Sri Lankan dubstep bhangra hip-pop IDM in which M.I.A. stars as protagonist, antagonist, chanteuse, MC, exotic schoolgirl tease, graphic artist, chastiser of the immoral, and fun-loving London-living party girl. And all in under 40 minutes, too. It’s special. We’ve not heard it’s like before.
100
Trouser Press
This is probably as close as anyone has yet come to achieving the visions of revolutionary global pop once advanced by the Clash and Afrika Bambaataa; it's equally enlightening to urban street kids and university eggheads.
91
Entertainment Weekly
As instantly infectious as it is hard to pin down. [15 Apr 2005, p.85]
90
Uncut
M.I.A.'s vivid debut already sounds like a booty-shaking milestone to rank alongside The Streets and Dizzee Rascal. [May 2005, p.98]
90
Dot Music
“Arular”, as well as being a particularly great and brave album, could well be this year’s Portishead or Massive Attack.
90
All Music Guide
It's the best kind of pop album imaginable. It can be enjoyed on a purely physical level, and it also carries the potential to adjust your worldview.
90
Lost At Sea
This is a hell of a record.
90
Tiny Mix Tapes
The only problem with this album is the difficulty you're going to have explaining what the hell it sounds like to your friends after they hear you raving about it.
90
PopMatters
It's an accessible album, but one containing challenging contrasts. In the end, what's most impressive is how Arulpragasam powerfully weaves a consistent theme of rootlessness throughout the record, drawing on her experiences in both the third world and modern London, from civil war to Western urban culture, and her own, highly unique, bastardized form of pop music is the extraordinary end result.
90
Rolling Stone
Weird, playful, unclassifiable, sexy, brilliantly addictive.
89
Austin Chronicle
Fortifying her monstrous singles "Galang" and "Sunshowers" with further molten munitions, Arular is primed for worldwide insurrection.
86
Pitchfork
With all the column inches and message board posts arguing about whether M.I.A. is an opportunist or a clever contextualist, genuine or a fraud, full of good intentions or no specific intentions at all, the closest thing to a truism about Arular is that it's a taut, invigorating distillation of the world's most thrilling music; a celebration of contradictions and aural globalization that recasts the tag "world music" as the ultimate in communicative pop rather than a symbol of condescending piety.
86
cokemachineglow
Arular beats out most everything I’ve heard this year in terms of creativity, energy, dance-ability and fun.
80
Billboard
All the elements are deftly held together by the MC/songstress' ability to make each track her own.
80
No Ripcord
What makes M.I.A. so good is her simplicity. Not quite electro-clash, not quite hip-hop, not quite grime, she's a world onto herself with little more than a groovebox and her voice to sustain her.
80
Playlouder
When 'Arular' works - a good three-quarters of the time - it's unmissable.
80
The Guardian
Shrapnel-sharp dance music that demands to be heard.
80
Mojo
Arular's irresistible blend of crafty refugee chic and subversive digital skipping rhymes will do very nicely for the moment. [Jun 2005, p.108]
80
Planet
Sounding as unfinished as if it never made it out of her bedroom before it was pressed up, this very rawness is part of why Arular makes as bold a statement as it does. [#9, p.71]
80
Junkmedia
Arular is what The Coup’s second record set out to be but wasn’t: Party Music, both for the warehouse hedonists and the basement dissidents.
80
The Onion (A.V. Club)
As an MC, M.I.A. sounds brash and sassy, a party-starter first and a polemicist second.
80
Splendid
At first listen, it's thrilling, but not quite the statement we were made to believe would shift the world's axis by its very existence. The best thing to do is clear your mind of hype and expectations, and listen to this record -- this fun, addictive, thoroughly entertaining record -- again and again.
80
The Wire
A thrilling affair. [#252, p.63]
80
Blender
It doesn't feel like soapboxing; it feels like life. [Mar 2005, p.142]
80
Dusted Magazine
What's more remarkable than her fascinating biography is her bold music. Like her life story, there's hardly anything like it.
80
Urb
M.I.A.'s singsong cadence is both child-like and streetwise, perfectly mirroring the smiley-faced menace of the electro-informed palpitations behind her. [Mar 2005, p.113]
80
Village Voice
Not for a moment does the violence seem vindictive, sadistic, or pleasurable. It's a fact of life to be triumphed over, with beats and tunelets stolen or remembered or willed into existence.
76
ShakingThrough.net
Arular is an impressive first outing, even if it does suffer from repetitive drill syndrome... and too often favors a smart hook over offering anything politically relevant to say.
75
E! Online
Like the Streets or Dizzee Rascal, Arulpragasam's beats are minimal, but tracks such as "Pull Up the People" make use of every ounce of groove as tight, crisp synth lines backing her catchy raga delivery.
70
Paste Magazine
It's not the mindblowing masterpiece the critics are so dizzily carping about, but as a milepost of the current state of world electronica it remains strong throughout.
70
New Musical Express
There is a fatal flaw with 'Arular' which means it never makes the step up from 'solid debut' to all-time classic. MIA clears her throat, grabs your attention: and then has nothing to say. [16 Apr 2005, p.49]
60
Q Magazine
M.I.A.'s style mag-cool pop-rap doesn't have the substance to carry the dark subtext of the title. [May 2005, p.107]
The average user rating for this album is 7.9 (out of 10) based on 186 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
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