Kala Reviews

• I Still Don't Get It.

  
  By A388ZDFVK72VCA on 2007-08-21
  A few years ago, a friend introduced me to M.I.A. He gives me a copy of "Arular" and says, "You have to hear this!" Now, more often than not I value this person's opinion. After all, he's introduced me to tons of music that I now love. So when I first put M.I.A. into my CD player and heard "Pull Up the People" I was a little surprised that what I was listening to was...well, terrible! I listened to the song for a few minutes before coming to the admittedly abrupt conclusion that this is something that I could never get into. A few months later, M.I.A. was turning up on nearly every top 10 list that I came across and I was even more confused. If everybody loves it, maybe I made my decision a bit prematurely. So I go out of my way to pick up a copy of "Arular" and I listen to it a few times. Surely this is enough time to make an informed decision about M.I.A. I was finally ready to lay down my final opinion; it's really, really terrible. "Kala" only helps solidify my opinion.
  
  Now don't get me wrong. On any given M.I.A. song, there's at least one thing that will make you say "Wow, that was cool" or "That's really good," the problem is that very little of that has to do with Maya Arulpragasam. Following in the tradition of "Arular," "Kala" is a brilliantly produced album and one of the most unique visions of hip-hop and grime available! True, Maya plays a small role in that, but go ahead and credit most of that to the uber-talented Switch, who is responsible for most of the production of both albums. While he's busy slaving away making some of the most inventive songs in hip-hop today, M.I.A., herself, is hard at work yelping repetitive and simplistic rhymes into the microphone. There, I said it.
  
  The sad thing is that M.I.A. is at her best when she's at her most repetitive. A song like "Bird Flu" or "Bamboo Banger" where she's left to repeat "I'm a road runner" to no end is much more appealing than when she actually sits down and tries to write something meaningful. "Paper Planes," for example, is an absolute chore to listen to, and really shows just how untalented she really is as a vocalist and as a writer. She might as well be singing "Please press the eject button."
  
  While most of the songs on "Kala" have the potential to be decent, say, in a club or live setting, I can't see myself enjoying this nonsense in any other environment. Is the music unique? Yes! Is it creative? Absolutely! Does it have it's moments? For sure! But when it's all said and done, Maya Arulpragasam is an absolutely terrible excuse for an artist whose appeal has more to do with her back story and her producers than herself. I don't expect a lot of positive feedback from this review, but I'm not really concerned about that. The fact of the matter is that I just didn't understand why "Arular" was such a critical success. Now that I've had the chance to listen to "Kala," it's safe to say that I still don't quite get it.
  
  Recommended for fans of "Arular" and repetitive dog yelps.
  
  Key Tracks:
  1. "Bird Flu"
  2. "Boyz"
  3. "Hussel (f/ Afrikan Boy)"
  4. "Down River"
  
  4 out of 10 Stars
  
  

• "I put people on the map who ain't seen a map."

  
  By A1S2IY37JU93XS on 2007-08-21
  M.I.A.'s (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) amazing debut album, Arular, garnered many dedicated fans. One of them just happened to be mega-producer Timbaland. He was so enthusiastic, in fact, that he wanted to work with her for her sophomore release. Of course Maya obliged and she even cried tears of happiness. But before she could begin collaborating with him, a little--okay, a big--obstacle came up; the Sri Lankan was not allowed to enter the United States for ten months due to visa troubles. Some artists would just quit right then and there, but that's not how she operates. M.I.A. figured that if she couldn't come into the US, then she would go and create her art everywhere else on the globe. And that's what she did. Kala was recorded in many locations, including India, London, Australia, Africa and Trinidad.
  
  Maya's first album, named after her father, was raw and unapologetically fierce. M.I.A. herself admitted the album was rather "masculine." However, Kala is, among other things, softer and more personal. It's only right that she named it after her mother. Maya's father doesn't think mom deserves the privilege. (Supposedly, the two are very competitive). But I would have to disagree with Papa Arulpragasam. When he left his family to become a freedom fighter, his jobless wife had to support her children and provide for them. Not only is she deserving of the title for respect's sake, but also because her struggle is represented in many of the songs. In tracks like "$20," Maya sounds less like the rambunctious girl we met on her debut and more like a tired and slightly bitter mother who has seen the cruelty of the world, trying to find hope and meaning somewhere. But still... there's strength! Power. (In the absolute best way possible, of course).
  
  The album opens perfectly with the minimalist, shuffling mid-tempo beat of "Bamboo Banga." About two minutes into the song, the beat picks up and grows in complexity and Maya announces triumphantly that she is coming back with "powah powah!" (Couldn't have said it better myself). Up next is the energetic "Bird Flu," complete with the chanting of little village girls, booming tribal drums and the "ba-gok!" of chickens. "Boyz" is a fun and quirky summer jam that sounds straight out of a street parade. The track is laced with a collage of drums, an infectious "how many" vocal sample and whistling. "Jimmy" is a slightly reworked/re-written version of a Bollywood song Maya used to sing at parties for money as a child. The disco track is thoroughly entertaining with addictive strings and some electronic beeps added for a modern touch. While it is very different from anything M.I.A. has created before, it is a very welcome addition to the album for me. "Hussel" is the first song on here that takes on the serious tone I mentioned earlier. Over the ominous, synth-heavy production, which sounds straight out of a rainforest, Maya raps about the hustle and grind of raising money to help family and friends in need. Guest artist Afrikan Boy adds a nice universal touch. Speaking of guest artists, "Mango Pickle Down River" has a group of Aboriginal kids, the Wilcannia Mob, rapping with her. They rap about their adventures together over a buzzing, bumbling track. "$20" is the epitome of the tone I mentioned in the second paragraph. It is also probably Kala's most introspective track. Maya, sounding almost defeated, spits out random deep thoughts on her mind. "World Town" is by far the track that best resembles Arular musically. Still, the lyrics fit the album's theme. "The Turn," like many of the other tracks, finds Maya... singing. She actually sounds beautiful and very unique. The lyrics say it all: "Don't bother me with your mess/ I'm trying to do my best/ Get my head up out the stress/ When the money turns the world/ Your lovin' turns to less." The meandering groove is just amazing. "XR2," which she posted on her MySpace earlier this year, is a hyperactive, percolating club track with a catchy sped-up horn sample. Her vocal delivery is almost like her own version of the Ying Yang Twins' "Whisper Song." (Except... much better). "Paper Planes" has already become a fan favorite, and rightfully so. It samples The Clash's "Straight To Hell," it's an extremely catchy song that discreetly speaks on her frustration about the visa situation, the chorus mixes roaring gunshots and cash register "cha-chings!" and it's produced by ex-boyfriend, Diplo. What's not to love? The closing track, "Come Around," is the only one produced by Timbaland. While many of Maya's fans resent the song (while others pretend it doesn't exist), I happen to love it. Sure, it's a little more mainstream than the other stuff, but it's fun, bouncy and her swagger is irresistible. It's a good way too end the album, in my opinion.
  
  Kala is a triumph. M.I.A. was faced with terrible misfortune, but rather than sitting around defeated, she traveled around the world, interacting with the people and recording a diverse, creative and just plain amazing album. This is by far one of--if not the--best CDs I've heard all year. I highly recommend.
  
  

• Help speed things along...

  
  By AVNFGFRFPAFK4 on 2007-08-21
  You, too, can help speed the demise of civilization: Buy this album; Give it to a dim-witted young person; Promote the idea that this, too, is art and culture.
  
  

• lack of talent?

  
  By A1K7XKAV2EDLFS on 2007-08-23
  look: with arular, we heard a new sound. m.i.a.'s strange vocal stylings and the production, sparse and off-center enough that it was something that was slightly familiar, but different enough that it provided an interesting listen. still, it wasnt clear whether or not m.i.a. herself had any talent. her personal story was interesting and her album was strange, but was she talented?
  with kala, we see that perhaps it wasnt her talent, but the overall feel of arular that drove that album. the production on this album is much clearer and lacks the eerie, strange quality of arular. what we have here is an album to dance to but not to listen to. also, m.i.a.'s vocals are much clearer, also taking away the strange quality of arular. with kala, especially on tracks like "hussel" i am left thinking, 'if i wanted to hear a rap album there are much better options out there...'
  i have no doubt that her life story is an interesting one, but the turn she has taken towards crisp production and accessable vocals (ie. rapping and singing as opposed to what she was doing on arular) only highlights her deficiencies as a vocalist.
  
  

• Kala

  
  By A5F1A9MI4BLFA on 2007-09-13
  To understand what makes Kala succeed so brilliantly is to realize why so many anti-war albums fail. Exhorting a message is easy. Getting people to sit up and pay attention is a much more formidable task, one that's proven too tall an order for the likes of the Flaming Lips, Nine Inch Nails, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, From Monument to Masses, and dozens of others. Kala sets itself apart by pulling off the neat hat trick of sounding both urgent and joyous--something that the Sri Lankan M.I.A. (née Maya Arulpragasam) managed to do with 2005's Arular, but which gets presented here to an incredible new extent. Perhaps Arulpragasam became a musician to push a point, but Kala is better poised for a club than for brow-furrowing headphone listening or a street protest; it is music first, a message second.
  
  Surely, Kala is some of the most exciting world-electronica fusion the United States has heard since, well, Arular. The production on "Bird Flu" is so chillingly perfect that you might forget that the song has no melody to speak of. Here and elsewhere, M.I.A. exploits the universal and pleasurable properties of percussion to draw us into Kala's world; unless you actually live there, your knowledge of Sri Lankan music is probably nil, and M.I.A. is the most accessible guide one could hope for. Tribal drumming and modern-day electro exist alongside each other as naturally as oil and vinegar, while M.I.A. plays to and uproots our expectations by taking world music clichés and turning them on their heads, whether it's the hilarious pygmy-like shouts in the war-paint-covered "Bird Flu" or the ersatz strings in the 1982 Bollywood cover, "Jimmy". If anything, Kala hammers home Sri Lanka's status as a hotbed of multiculturalism. Its music is African, Indian, Middle Eastern, British and wryly American all at once, and I can imagine no better environment for an anti-war cry than one in which musical styles coexist this peacefully.
  
  M.I.A.'s exhortation strategy is fresh, uncommon, and sledgehammer-blunt. "Fight on!", the album cover shamelessly reads, and it's clear that M.I.A. considers a move toward peace as literally that: a mobilization that requires as much force as soldiers are willing to devote to a war. Her fight-fire-with-fire approach results in music that's more bracing and confrontational than Arular while still avoiding sounding militaristic, instead coming off like a cheerleading squad that means deathly serious business. M.I.A.'s voice often feels like a drum, pounding away about the price of AK-47s in Africa, forgoing a fashion career for the sake of protest, being hassled about immigration papers and what it might be like to blow up the fighters in her dreams. She stands above the dreck as a paragon of self-confidence, while even allowing some humor to peek through on "Boyz": "How many no money boyz are crazy, how many boyz are raw? / How many no money boyz are rowdy, how many start a war?" (The `z's aren't there for nothing.) Of course, when Nigerian M.C. Afrikan Boy reproachfully spits, "You think it's tough now? Come to Africa" on "Hussel," we don't dare laugh.
  
  Perhaps most phenomenal is how M.I.A. made a better album than Arular by grabbing the reins herself. For Kala, she aligned herself with UK house producer Switch, whose relatively hands-off approach allowed M.I.A. to have a greater say in the production and arrangements than she had on Arular (heretofore considered DJ Diplo's album above all). It shows; Kala sounds like the album M.I.A. wanted to make, all the way down to the slinky swamp song "The Turn." In fact, "Come Around" is the only track I can think of in which Timbaland's foray behind the boards actually makes the song less interesting than what surrounds it. If M.I.A. wasn't an international superstar before Kala's release, she likely will be and certainly deserves to be; this is her album, reflective of her vital personality and compelling statement of purpose at every single turn. In an era riddled with ghostwriting, lip-synching, showboating and O-Town, few recording artists alive are less deserving of M.I.A.'s own namesake than M.I.A.
  
  
• Noisy Mess
  By AQ7E1835RE04N on 2007-08-27
  First off I gotta say I really liked Arular, it felt kinda dangerous w/ its political lyrics that represented something unheard of in the world of pop music. Maybe this release suffers somewhat for not including a listing of the lyrics. This cd suffers on all fronts. The music is too much over the top and has no real cohesive feel & It gets quite grating.Aside from Jimmy and Paper Planes which at least take the time to create a song , Jimmy almost feels too much a diversion from Arulars fringe feel and goes very mainstream while Paper Planes seems to encourage murdering people in the midst of robbery! (Too Extreme) And in the Timbaland cut she chants "run de-ga-run de-ga-run de-ga-run now" and I dont need to tell you what that sounds like she is saying (even though I dont believe its meant that way). Many times during the cd she goes into this monotone vocal style which only drags the noisy songs down a notch. I am disappointed because I expected greatness from this release. I say beware for those expecting something better than Arular cause this aint it!
  
  
• An intense, body-shaking, mind-bending album.
  By A1PRFV33R59CLS on 2008-04-27
  Over a few years, British musician MIA - aka Mathangi Arulpragasam - has realised far-flung ambitions.
  Her 2005 debut album "Arular" proved an electric shock to the system, its ballsy mashup of street styles and pop hooks earning a Mercury nomination in U.K.
  Mia's new album "Kala" is named after her mother, but like "Arular" it mixes up musical ideas from around the world and crams them into a club- and radio-friendly collage of tunes.
  This CD drives her music in even more intrepid directions
  In fact this time, rather than work with British producers such as Steve Mackey of Pulp and the pop guru Richard X, MIA travelled widely to authentically capture the world music that intrigues her.
  The result is fantastic.
  "Birdflu" features the sound of traditional Indian drummers, whom MIA recorded on a trip to the sub-continent last year.
  "Down River" throbs with didgeridoo she recorded at a workshop for aboriginal children in Australia. The tribal pound of "Hussel", meanwhile, was recorded with a Nigerian-born London-based rapper, African Boy.
  Whereas "Arular" was dominated by bouncy funk carioca beats, "Kala" feels like a more mixed, cosmopolitan affair.Recorded in India, Australia, Trinidad, Japan, Britain and Baltimore with producers including Switch and Blaqstarr, it sounds like an infectious international travelogue.
  Looking at that luminous, vibrant front cover, or the ludicrously colourful video for "Boyz", M.I.A. seems more like a textile artist than anything else.
  If the driving force behind her music is a restless, globe-trotting quest for identity, that makes sense - a collage is a beautiful way of drawing disparate pieces together to create a whole that exists as something important in itself.
  "Kala" meets the critics head on, taking her dancefloor smash-and-grab sound global.
  She twangs the boundaries of taste both lyrically ("Take me on a genocide tour/Take me on a trip to Darfur") and musically. But a knockout's a knockout, however messy the bout.
  All in all, Kala is an intense, body-shaking, mind-bending album, far more ambitious than most pop around.
  My favourite tracks are "Paper Planes", "20 Dollars" and "Turn".
  
  
• 21st Century World Music
  By ACTYP447JCDX0 on 2007-08-21
  ("Kala" by M.I.A.)
  
  So what's a talented hip-hop artist to do after her debut draws raves from critics and an inexplicable fan base of jaded indie rockers? Record a follow-up disc with mega producer Timbaland, of course! Now that she had the cult, she might as well go for the gold (or platinum, or diamond...). Unfortunately, Uncle Sam couldn't care less about the pop charts, and M.I.A.'s resulting visa problems prevented her from spending real quality time with Timbaland. This could have sunk a lesser artist, but Maya Arulpragasm has a truly adventurous spirit and a true "vision thing" (as a certain former president might say), so she jets off around the globe to work with kindred spirits in Jamaica, Trinidad, Australia and eventually even the good old U.S. of A, and it's easy to guess that the resulting album, "Kala," is crazier and riskier than the debut, Arular. What isn't as easy, however, is that it's deeper, and in many ways better.
  
  Starting off with three high energy dance numbers that recall her previous work, it soon becomes apparent that there are indeed major differences. The rhythms are far more complex and M.I.A.'s vocals are more confident. While she was never shy about injecting some politics into the mix (her shout-out to the PLO caused some minor controversy last time out), on the Bollywood/disco number "Jimmy" there are these sure to be discussed lyrics: "Take me on ya genocide tour/Take me on a truck to Darfur." Considering "Jimmy" is easily the most accessible track on the album, it comes off as more than a little sardonic and dark-humored.
  
  Other highlights include "Bird Flu," with it's tribal drumming and chicken squawk sample; "20 Dollar" samples gunshot sounds and New Order's "Blue Monday" and has a lush psychedelic quality to it; "Mango Pickle Down" features some aboriginal boys called the The Willcania Mob and "Hussel" has some guest rapping by Afrikan Boy. As a whole, "Kala" is truly 21st century world music, where cutting edge production helps create a global party vibe. Instead of some embarrassing Kumbaya sing-alongs, though, M.I.A. unites the first and third worlds without ignoring the problems inherent in the proposition. Instead of coming off as some rich pop star seemingly exploiting others for a bit of knee-jerk exoticism, she allows her collaborators a full voice and meshes it perfectly with her own sensibility. Instead of becoming just another hit maker (okay, so the CD offers a free--yikes--ring tone), she'd rather have the artistic credibility of someone like Bjork.
  
  Ironically, the weakest track here is the Timbaland produced (and guest-starring) closer, "Come Around," which is really a scrap from his recent solo album. The result is that "Kala" ends with a whimper instead of a bang. When compared with the rest of the album, a listener can only say "who needs Timbaland, anyway?" Frankly, the "global village" needs M.I.A. more than M.I.A. needs cheap pop hits.
  
  
• Big disappointment
  By AR1XGPU7BTXK0 on 2007-09-15
  As a HUGE fan of Arular (it was probably my favorite recording of the last five years) I was really looking forward to Kala's release.
  
  Arular was a big, beautiful recording. It sounded like some demented Indian carnival. It held together perfectly.
  
  But Kala is like what happens after the carnival ends - all that's left is the racket of the roadies disassembling the tents. It's tuneless, hookless. Not one of the songs is better than any of the songs on Arular.
  
  My favorite song by far is the one produced by Timbaland, and although I like his production, I wish he didn't rap on it.
  
  MIA is a great artist, but she needs help production-wise.
  
  
• If you don't get it, I can't explain it to you!
  By A16Q2CW3MAOFJI on 2007-08-21
  The term 'World Pop' has been around for decades but it somehow comes up short when describing the work of M.I.A. First with Arular, and now with Kala, the music of M.I.A. has defied categorization and classification. In the best conceivable way, we are in need of new descriptors for what we are hearing. On my iPod, I changed the genre classification for the dance-able yet political Arular to 'Urban Electro Hop'. Kala pushes the envelope further. It's still a booty shaking electronica album but the content criss-crosses the planet so angrily and with such socio-political focus that I can only describe it as 'World Punk'. It is fitting that the excellent track Paper Planes samples The Clash's Straight to Hell. I am certain world music loving Joe Strummer would RAVE about Kala.
  
  Kala is vibrant and alive... it pulses! Take Bamboo Banga, for example, which starts out like a stiff breeze at a race track but catapults you into a pinball machine caught in a hurricane. The excellent tracks Bird Flu and Boyz have been circulating in .mp3 form on the 'net for a few months but it's great to hear their full dynamic impact as presented on the CD. Jimmy is a bouncy change of pace that reminds me of what Blondie's disco years would have sounded like had they been filtered through Japanese and Bollywood DJ scenes. Other standout tracks are the kid hop of Mango Pickle..; 20 Dollar with its eery sample of/homage to the Pixies; the defiant World Town; and the aforementioned Paper Planes.
  
  Kala is simultaneously ahead of its time and in your DNA like history. It is a brilliant album that pounds and deserves to be played LOUD. The sound of your mind blowing open. The hearing loss is well worth it.
  
  
• Deeply Saddened
  By A1LDDXEQHXFX7B on 2007-09-14
  After all of the hype, rave reviews, and recommendations I heard about M.I.A., I figured I had to buy the album. I am definitely open to new and clever mixes, beats and the like but this album just did not do it for me. I have to say this was probably one of the most disappointing albums I have purchased in a while now. While I can definitely appreciate the attempt to incorporate sounds and beats that are not usually heard, I think the attempt turned into overkill. You know when you are reading an essay and the person who wrote the essay chops sentences up into fragments, misspells and leaves out punctuation? It's hard to read the essay without feeling like you're hitting a dip each time you come across an error. Same thing each time I heard a sound that clashed with another. The repetitiveness can drive you almost mad (e.g. Track 1). I am giving this CD two stars for two reasons: 1) Attempting to drive at something new, and 2) Track 2 (Jimmy). That's all I got.
  
  
• is this supposed to be good music? NO
  By A2Z88UVRKMB50Q on 2008-03-03
  It's always great to find a great "experimental", "ground breaking", "inspiring" and "imaginative" album that stands out of the common and top 40 music. Examples of this kind of music they are many (thank God), but this album is NOT. It is dull, childish, REPETITIVE, PREDICTABLE, no hooks, no melody, no great beats. Don't believe the hype, this is not COOL MUSIC to show your friends, you will end with a headache. Save your money and look elsewhere.
  
  
• More confident and daring than Arular
  By A2HL2XV3ARX1Q0 on 2007-08-21
  Right from the opener 'Bamboo Banger' it's obvious that this is a more confident and assured record, where M.I.A really sets herself no boundaries. The first 3 songs on the album hit you like a storm, and Jimmy arrives at the perfect moment to inject a little disco into the album. Before you know it, the album is over, and all you want to do is hit the rewind button. Sounds, beats, moods and different genres come together to create a soundscape which is both distinct and enthralling. This is truly a global artist who has only began to explore her potential.
  
  If you enjoyed her debut album, then there is no doubt that this will quickly make it's way to the top of your play list. If your just looking for something out of this world in it's brilliance, then pick this up ASAP!!
  
  
  
  
• Weird, Wacky, Inventive - but not a Masterpiece
  By A2ULSA0IRUE09E on 2007-09-12
  All these glowing reviews for MIA would lead you to believe that this album is "all that". Well, its not. Its certainly groundbreaking in the same way that a TV show throws up a new story arc and you say "Hey, I've never seen THAT done before!", but the similarity ends there.
  
  That said, this album does have its' moments. First of all, one must be in the right frame of mind to appreciate an album such as this. If youre a fan of simple pop or rock music, I wouldn't really advise this - you might actually get a headache (a couple of my friends I thought would really like it, ended up hating it and calling it a "collection of noises"). However, if you like experimental fusion music, Missy Elliot style beats, and a whole lot of synthesizer, then well, you're in luck.
  
  Make no mistake, MIA is no great vocalist. In fact, her voice is the least interesting thing about her. As a rapper, she is average at best - her quaint English stylings lend the songs a certain something but the novelty of that wears off pretty quickly. What she does have, is excellent production, and shes probably invested in a team to specifically dig up old and obscure records to sample.
  
  Prime example is "Jimmy", which was a track on the hit Bollywood film from the early 1980s "Disco Dancer". I downloaded the original track to compare the two versions, and the shocking thing is that MIA hasn't even bothered to tweak the song a little. In fact, the song is a note for note copy of the original, with MIA's vocals overlapping every now and then. Sure, every kid with a laptop these days could make a song like "Jimmy", but you have to hand it to MIA for doing it first.
  
  "Boyz" is a fun number with Sri Lankan girl choruses. That theme and sentiment runs through the whole record. Verses start and stop - choruses that are supposed to appear don't, and musical interludes take a completely different direction on some songs - all in all, this is an unpredictable and fun record, but its best savored in small doses.
  
  MIA is a novelty act, yes, but you can't deny that her songs sound good on hi-fi equipment. She should really thank her producers - they did a remarkable job getting her the best of everything, and this album, "Kala", is a winner because of that. Not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but as a creative experiment, this was quite spectacular.
  
  Three Stars.
  
  
• A lame sophomore album
  By AOYTYTCS9IKPJ on 2007-09-21
  M.I.A.'s first album, Arular, was excellent. The beats on Kala are just as good as the last album, but M.I.A.'s lyrics are boring and uninspired.
  
  
• Crappy Beat Music
  By A17J91PKRJR8TU on 2008-05-28
  I hate that first of all, she had to sample The Clash and everytime they play her song on the radio, I think it is The Clash.
  This is really nothing more than crappy beat music. People seem to rave about it and I cannot understand why. The lyrics are not great, the background music is not original or anything.
  
  I am a huge music fan and historian, and MIA is one of the most overrated artists of the new age. I respect her and her art, but just because you love music does not mean you can make it worth a darn. I am living proof of that. Haha.
  
  
• M.I.A. is bangin' hot!
  By A2V08R85IZKDPC on 2007-08-21
  Wow. This cd is brilliant. The sounds are crazy. It is better in "Arular". I haven't been this excited by new sounds since Missy Elliot's "Work It". Totally creative. No one is making music that sounds like this. "Kala" is fresh. This will be huge it clubs.
  
  
• M.I.A. evolving since Arular
  By A1QT1JMBMWVFUJ on 2007-08-21
  I love Arular. It's a fun album that's excellent to work out to and to dance with in the club. Kala is just as fun with a bit more of MIA's background influences. I think I like Arular a bit better, but I still enjoy this album and M.I.A.
  
  
• Not as good as Arular, but that would be an IMPOSSIBLE feat...
  By A2AM22ETGFT4HK on 2007-08-28
  First of all, I wouldn't be surprised if, at the end of the decade, I say that M.I.A.'s debut album "Arular" is album of the DECADE. It's such a powerful record in the way that Public Enemy had power with "It Takes A Nation Of Millions To Hold Us Back". So, of course, I was totally expecting M.I.A.'s follow-up to be a memorable record up there with "Fear Of A Black Planet", and it probably wasn't fair of me to expect so much. Don't get me wrong, as "Kala" is a really, really good record. M.I.A. is extremely creative and the work she and her producers have done here is new, groundbreaking, fresh, and relevant. I wish more dance and hip-hop these days tried to communicate on as many levels. However, aside from some stand-out tracks such as "Bamboo Banger", "XR2", and "Boyz", "Kala" does not deliver that emotional and political fist in the face that made "Arular" so otherworldly in its awesomeness. Am I disappointed? No, not at all. This is a solid album. As someone who became enamored with the wave of politically conscious hip-hop in the late 80s and early 90s, this ranks right up there with all of the greats. In an era where instant gratification and gimmicks seem to be preferred traits in most people's musical tastes, it's really nice to hear music that clearly took a lot of blood, sweat and tears to create, and would be something you could easily envision sharing with your children and grandchildren many years from now. It's just not as good as "Arular".
  
  
• It doesn't get much worse than this.
  By A33XJB57B68YJ9 on 2008-03-13
  Don't do it! Don't even think about it. The "freshness" wears off this CD in a matter of seconds. MIA's "new sound" comes across like a dying giraffe (on speed). There is a reason this thing is sold for under $6, because it is an absolute waste of your time to listen to it, and mine to even write about it! Please disappear into mediocrity, Ms. MIA, your 15 minutes are up. BTW, they made me give this album one star. When it doesn't even deserve that. Overrated. Over hyped. Over reviewed.
  
  
• 4 1/2 Stars Is About Right For The Wild Style That Is M.I.A
  By A3E5OY3YLZMOA9 on 2008-09-15
  M.I.A is a very interesting artist and she is a good example for the word cause she truly has an artistic spirit. I never heard her first release but heard some singles off it. Sadly for me those singles weren't that strong to take a chance and buy it. With Kala I swear to you that it will be a very different experience than you have had with your normal genre. She is incredibly cool and has the nicest beat flow I have heard in a while.
  
  First to get started she did a great job with her production. I heard Bird Flu and Boyz a lot a year ago and loved them. I had no idea that Paper Planes was on the same album. I had to have this after finding this out. After you figure out just exactly what she is saying, you start to enjoy her lyrics as well. Honestly I am still having trouble figuring out what she says on some other tracks. The hot thing is that she never loses the beat and never loses her rhythm. She stays on the beat on ever track. She has an amazing talent in producing cause these beats are hot.
  
  I love that she brings out not only her culture but some others in these instruments and songs. She is progressing into a really good artist and I hope that she keeps doing what she's doing. Hey, she is good enough that Kanye has sampled her voice right? I definitely give Kala about a 4 1/2, I hate the song jimmy and that's really it. I think that she could have made a much better track than that one but overall this is a great album.
  
  
• Genious expanded?
  By A2BD6R4UK6ZG9R on 2007-08-23
  When I bought Arular, after hearing a couple of cuts on woxy.com and then downloading sample cuts from Jones Soda's website, I was hooked. Here is a young woman with political and social awareness, a keen sense of rhythm and humor, and the ability to refuse to be pigeon-holed. A brilliant album that was stolen from me twice (!) once people started to grok her sounds and messages. My hairband friends like her, my hardcore rap friends like her, my r&b friends like her... and so do I.
  
  NOW, we have an album that is intentionally complex, cheesy and insightful. From the bitter pill of $10 Dollar's condemnation of the subjugation of women for male sexual pleasure, we find a blistering indictment of weapons production with $20, and the disgusting saturation of our planet with devices of murder is lain bare.
  
  Kala is fun for what it is and what it is not. Maya could easily have gone uber-slick and made a mess of an album, and at first listen, the extremely varied production standards, while doing an intro sampling, seems very off-putting... but play the album in total, start to finish, and LISTEN to the lyrics, the amazing beats and the very well chosen samples.
  
  This is a brilliant sophomore effort, when many artists crap out. It's more than rap, more than hiphop, more than rock, more than dance, and yet, none of them alone. This is an album that will grow on you in value as you listen time and again.
  
  I've owned it for 2 days and listened to it 6 times already and it just gets better and better!
  
  BUY THIS DISC!!!
  
  
• How come there is no 6 Rating?!
  By AFIX0GHKWKRAJ on 2007-08-24
  Kala, M.I.A.'s sophmore album to Arular, an album I couldnt put down, is electrifying and energetic. Newbies to MIA's sound will need to adjust their ears to the creativity and experimental nature that is Maya. To MIA cult following, it's just what we have been waiting for since we heard she was coming out with another album. I had rush to the music store and get it...and was not disappointed.
  
  Top songs:
  Bird Flu- Crazy Sick Dance Track
  Boyz - Can it get any hotter
  XR2 - I think it just did?
  Paper Planes - Insane. Hot. The Best of the Tracks! I don't care if it is a cover. Bullet!Bullet!Bullet!
  
  Maya, I wanna be your groupie.
  
  
• yup yup!
  By A3MA61NPNHGY9Y on 2007-08-29
  This will polarize people... again. You seriously will either love this album or hate it. If you liked (loved?) Arular, you'll love this one - more new beats, quotes older songs the same way Massive Attack does (to wonderful effect) and continues with the outlook we all need to cultivate to stay vital in the world. Only other thing I could compare her to would be Manu Chao in the sense that there're so many different worldly things going on in her music... and otherwise.
  
  
• It takes a few listens to properly ingest...
  By A3PCC8VFK0ML7L on 2007-09-05
  ... but the time spent taking in this album is well worth it. 'Kala' is extraordinarily complex. It definitely takes a special talent to make something like this.
  
  It helps to know what to expect. I agree with the notion that other Amazon users have put forward that this is a 'noisy mess'.. but that isn't always a bad thing, at least not in music (See: Velvet Underground's "Sister Ray").
  
  M.I.A. has her album spattered with all sorts of weird sound effects... beeps, cars, ect... and you could be fooled to think that the CD was actually skipping sometimes on certain songs. Then you have songs like "Birdflu", which is an all-out attack of exotic drum rhythms. And it's all done with a unique sense of style.
  
  It takes time to truly appreciate. And it's quite impressive.
  
  
• SHE DID IT AGAIN !
  By AC6LWR7WM5XO8 on 2007-09-08
  M.I.A. gave us more world/techno/hip hop beats on her sophmore album and she doesn't dissapoint! I love listening to this while washing dishes it makes me dance. She is so refeshing, I love how shes not confined to one genre of music.
  
  
• Please enter a title for your review:
  By A2KEKPMI3WQMPA on 2007-10-07
  People talk about M.I.A. being political but it's virtually impossible to make out a word she talk-sings. Most of her vocals are repetitive looped chants with a ridiculous level of reverb that drains all humanity out of her voice, and all these sparse percussive mid-tempo barely-songs sound the same. If you've heard half a song you've heard them all. I don't understand how anyone could endure the monotony of this record, let alone find anything to enjoy in it. It is somewhat original, but mostly for the fact that it sounds like someone let their kid loose in the recording studio.
  
  
• the most interesting, undanceable dance record
  By ABK5VTHZA8EKK on 2007-10-11
  After tasting the fame as an opening act for biter Gwen Stefani, you might think Maya "M.I.A" Arulpragasam would water down her music a little and watch the money pile up. Not so. M.I.A. returns with the most interesting, undanceable dance record of the last few years (think of all those times fell on your face trying to pull off something graceful during "Get Ur Freak On" and double the difficulty level). The beat is still present, but the rhythms and textures generally fall a few miles south from her previous efforts. The single "Boys" is an exploration of Moroccan percussion and stop/start moments that derail an easy head-nod; the hyper-compressed, neo-crunk "20 Dollar" slinks along, dirge-like, as Arulpragasam's auto-tuned vocals soar above; "Bird Flu" sounds like a scene out of an over-the-top Bollywood wedding movie, scores of drummers pounding out a serious stomp; mechanical djembes churn and synths rip under Afrikan Boy's rap of "you think it's tough now/come to Africa" on "Hussel". M.I.A. and producer Switch (Diplo and Timbaland also make appearances) gracefully turn whatever rhythm they fancy into catchy cohesion, resulting in a disorderly delight.
  
  
• Fresh fresh fresh
  By A1WF0MV0ISZJL6 on 2007-11-09
  I can't stop listening to this disc. I'm what MIA refers to as a geezer. At 50 yo, I was in a Barnes and Noble listening to discs and hoping for something to grab me that wasn't more of the same, novelty, or lip gloss on a pig. Rarely happens, but I picked up KALA and even with the 20 seconds per song could tell this was just mouth wateringly fresh and exciting.
  
  After hearing the entire disc (over and over) I think it's really fabulous for its originality, sense of style, point of view, political passion, playfulness, and just fun. It's funny how a prerequisite for any superlative disc is that it sounds like the performers had a blast making it. Clearly the case here.
  
  I also later bought Arular and also enjoy it, but found Kala to be more refined, inventive, accessible and distinctive. But I'll take anything I can get from this remarkable artist. M.I.A. give me more and keep us geezers happy (along with everyone else).
  
  
• Groundbreaking? Fresh New Artist to Hit The Scene? NO!
  By A1JIW8GOSSGUQR on 2008-08-01
  MIA has seemed to get a lot of publicity by magazines and by Amazon, so I thought I check it out. I consider myself to be diverse in most music, so I always try to give some modern pop/hip hop a fair chance. Most of it might wind up in my garbage can, but that is besides the point. I have to admit some of MIA material is somewhat catchy, and that is the only reason that I gave it two stars, but folks, this has been done before. I dont understand where this is ground-breaking. Am I missing something? This is pretty much sampling over synthisised vocal, which is fine, but its not something that hasnt been done before. As a fan of Electronica, I can tell you that this has been done, and it was done over 15yrs ago when Techno become more complex and starting using more then just a four on the floor beat. Juno Reactor, Plastikman, Orbital, Meet Beat Manifesto, are just some old-school electronica acts that incoporated beats and vocal into a mish-mosh of chopped up blips and bleerps. Even the Prodigy who some of you might remember from the late 90's when they finally broke into the world of pop (but they were together since 91 when Experience was wrote, and released in 92)used some of this format. Some catchy stuff? sure, is it very good? not really. I will listen to fifty different electronica artist before I come back to this, as some of it is just to damn poppy and absurd.
  
  

• Arular
• Santogold
• In Rainbows
• Sound of Silver
• The Reminder