Arular - M.I.A.
Arular Image
Metascore
88 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 33 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 222 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • Summary: 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.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. Stylus Magazine
    100
    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.
  2. Playlouder
    80
    When 'Arular' works - a good three-quarters of the time - it's unmissable.
  3. No Ripcord
    80
    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.
  4. Q Magazine
    60
    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]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 33 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 110 out of 139
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 139
  3. Negative: 24 out of 139
  1. JM
    10
    One of the essential albums of the year...
  2. LuizCC
    8
    The guest CD from M.IA. brings us the roots she takes her magical beats from. This album is pure Africa, with bongos, drums, and sound effects that put us in the middle of a jungle, watching a tribe doing some sort of ritual for a special day. "Bucky Done Gun", "Bingo", "Sunshowers" e "Galang" are the best this album have, and it's not a minor thing, it's a great thing, starting the beatiful carrer of the one the most intelligents singer that appeared this days.… Expand
  3. hydrawithears
    6
    One look at the cover and you know that this album isnâ
  4. RayKay
    4
    this CD is horribly overrated. don't waste your time

See all 139 User Reviews

Current Music Releases

Full List »
  1. Rumours [35th Anniversary Deluxe Edition] - Fleetwood Mac
    Metascore: 99
  2. Sunbather - Deafheaven
    Metascore: 97
  3. Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 2 - Miles Davis Quintet
    Metascore: 92
  4. Jama Ko - Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba
    Metascore: 90
  5. Southeastern - Jason Isbell
    Metascore: 90
  6. Like a Rose - Ashley Monroe
    Metascore: 89
  7. Same Trailer Different Park - Kacey Musgraves
    Metascore: 88
  8. Your Turn - Marc Ribot's Ceramic Dog
    Metascore: 88
  9. The Graceless Age - John Murry
    Metascore: 88
  10. Minute by Minute - The James Hunter Six
    Metascore: 88
  11. M B V - My Bloody Valentine
    Metascore: 87
  12. Acid Rap - Chance the Rapper
    Metascore: 87
  13. Yeezus - Kanye West
    Metascore: 87
  14. Beautiful Africa - Rokia Traoré
    Metascore: 87
  15. Random Access Memories - Daft Punk
    Metascore: 87
  16. LSXX [Last Splash: 20th Anniversary Edition] - The Breeders
    Metascore: 87
  17. Annie Up - Pistol Annies
    Metascore: 87
  18. Without a Net - Wayne Shorter
    Metascore: 86
  19. Once I Was an Eagle - Laura Marling
    Metascore: 86
All Current Music »