Albums I Heard In July

M.I.A-/\/\ /\ Y /\

So the backlash has started at last. This, the infuriatingly titled new release from M.I.A. (which I'll just refer to as Maya from now on) is a crushing disappointment. Over the last few years I have been able to ignore M.I.A's regular and foolish and idiotic political statements (Facebook is run by the CIA! The Tower Hamlets MP flooded the area with heroin to sedate the Bengali's) because she has turned out a sizeable number of brilliant tunes (Boyz, Jimmy, Bucky Done Gun, Galang, Paper Planes etc etc) thanks in no small part to her production team (especially Diplo and Switch). With Maya, however she has allowed her sense of paranoia and seemingly unwavering belief that she is under attack filter into her music. The majority of Maya throws huge sounding blips, synths and drums at you without any sense of direction, it tries to batter you into submission but ends up sounding flat. Now, I am in no way moaning about the lack of a 'Paper Planes' or 'Jimmy' single, the opening trio of the masterpiece 'Kala' (Bamboo Banga, Bird Flu, Boyz) was a superb hurricane style onslaught but controlled with a sense of vision and effortless ability. In 'Maya' we are left with a hollow shell of an album, devoid of any heart or emotion (the vocoder overkill doesn't help either). The intro 'The Message' complete with the most annoying lyrics of the year thus far "iphone connected to google connected to the government" followed by the flat 'Steppin Up' do not make a good start. 'Meds and Feds', a collaboration with Sleigh Bells is also a wasted opportunity, a nice idea in principal but really just doesn't work. Single 'XXXO' is enjoyable enough, but it seems like she's in search of a pop moment and it just sounds like a Lady GaGa reject. The best track by far is the teaser 'Born Free' which retains an element of power even shorn from its controversial video and is probably the only track that is a match for anything on Arular or Kala. I'll still listen to whatever she does next, but here M.I.A has fallen for Third Album Syndrome big time.




The Radio Dept.-Clinging To A Scheme
New album from the latest 'neo-shoegazers' The Radio Dept. is a very worthwhile affair. The singles, especially 'Heaven's On Fire' make it a worthwhile listen but the album tracks, particularly 'Never Follow Suit' are pretty much solid indie rock stuff. Not life changing but perfectly passable.




The Drums-The Drums
Along with Delphic, The Drums were probably the best act on this year's Sound of 2010 list. Sadly like that group, their debut album seems to have had a decent first week position only to drop down like a lead zeppelin soon after. Still though, this is an enjoyable worthwhile listen and one of the year's more immediate records. Basically, they are a sunny indie band with 50's style melodies that you absorb fairly quickly. The bouncy 'Best Friend' sets the tone for things to come, two tracks later coming to the excellent 'Let's Go Swimming', lead single and probably the best track on here. 'Book of Dreams' is a wistful growing up style song very much in the Brian Wilson vein, 'Down By The Water' is just gorgeous, and on tracks like 'Skippin' Town' you find yourself singing along to the lyrics without even realising it. The Drums do live up to their hype at least as far as music goes; and this is a fun, likable album, if a tad samey. Nevertheless, it looks like, at this stage anyway, they won't become arena killers yet.




Robyn-Body Talk pt. 1
Robyn, despite having the superb #1 hit 'With Every Heartbeat' seems destined to fall down the same career path as Annie; namely crafting superb electo/dance/pop tunes that for some strange reason are completely ignored by the mainstream. This, the first of three albums out this year stalled at 47 on the album charts which to me is a real shame, because 'Body Talk Pt. 1' gives most other pop albums this year a proper run for their money. At 30 minutes and 8-tracks it's a very lean album, and time will tell with the subsequent 'Body Talks' if this should have been a longer, single album but on the strength of these tunes Robyn has plenty of fine pop songs up her sleeve to keep us busy for the rest of the year. The opening half is particularly strong, 'Don't Fucking Tell Me What To Do' opens brilliantly with a call and response and general grumble about modern life that doesn't pause for breath until we get to the excellent 'Fembot'. After this is the albums centrepiece, 'Dancing On My Own', just as good as 'With Every Heartbeat' and like that fine record, it's a slow burner that creeps up on you the more you listen to it. Elsewhere, 'Dancehall Queen' sees her paired with Diplo who does a fine job on a deceptively straightforward song and winds up being better than any of his work on the M.I.A album. The latter half of the album winds things down slowly with the moody Royskopp collaboration 'None of Dem', lovely acoustic version of 'Hang With Me' and ending with a sweet sounding Swedish traditional song. The only real criticism of 'Body Talk Pt. 1' is that it's way too short, but in the light of the forthcoming parts, this may be best enjoyed as a whole experience. Either way, this is certainly enough to wet ones appetite for more.


Album Of The Month: Robyn-Body Talk Pt. 2