Matangi

M.I.A. - Matangi
Critic Score
Based on 44 reviews
2013 Ratings: #206 / 1115
User Score
Based on 802 ratings
2013 Rank: #144
Liked by 75 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

100
The Independent

There are overworked beatscapes and confounding lyrics, sure – but also multiple sublime, fully formed songs.

94
Paste

Those naysayers will declare this a fine return to form. From this desk, it is the only step forward for someone whose has proven herself so far ahead of the curve that everyone from Madge to Versace have come knocking on her door.

90
Uncut

Matangi is her most exhilarating and mulch-faceted album.

85
The Line of Best Fit

Her child-like rhymes may seem like she’s only toying with playground politics but she knows exactly where her strengths are; Matangi is a tribute to those talents and it’s an unmitigated thrill. 

83
Entertainment Weekly

M.I.A. never overthrew the prevailing pop order ... With her usual free-trade beats sounding more velvety than spiky, Maya Arulpragasam's fourth album finally makes peace with this.

83
Pretty Much Amazing

MATANGI is a total blast, one catchy, tough, clever, airtight, hyper-current track after another for a solid hour of off-the-hook fun that synthesizes everything that worked about Arular, Kala, and /\/\/\Y/\ while discarding those ideas that didn’t.

80
The Guardian

Like the woman who made it, Matangi is hugely inventive and a bit exhausting: if it's hard to take in anything other than small doses, you can't help but be glad it exists.

80
Clash

M.I.A.’s most consistent work since her debut ... Yes, her myriad ideas are still tumultuous, but there’s precious few other musicians out there attempting such an ambitious and impassioned collage of words, rhythms and concepts.

80
Mojo
The snotty attitude of MIA's incendiary globalist skipping rhymes has never been better balanced with first-rate pop hooks.
80
Exclaim!
All in all, the disses, weird comments, glitchyness, folky bits and ravey big bass — among many other sundry bits and pieces — come together to create something that will make many people dance. This doesn't sound like an album as much as a terrifically curated DJ set—and that's more than okay.
80
DIY

It does look like M.I.A is returning with vengeance. While '/\/\ /\ Y /\’ had interesting ideas at its epicentre, ‘Matangi’ manages to realise them, predominantly via the medium of infectious limb-jerking beatfoolery.

80
FACT Magazine

Though a marginally lesser album than predecessor MAYA, Matangi is nevertheless dynamite.

80
The 405

It might be billed as a rap record, or even a dance album, but it honestly sounds like nothing else that has come before - and in that respect it is typical of all M.I.A. records.

80
Consequence of Sound

Frankly, Matangi is the best M.I.A. album since at least Kala. So, if Yeezus earned an allowance for its lack of self-awareness and occasional ignorance by being a great album, Matangi earns the same allowance

80
The Observer

For all its contradictions and eccentricities, Matangi (the title links MIA with her near-namesake deity, a ghetto-dwelling Hindu goddess of music) feels more fully realised than the previous albums.

80
SPIN

Like its creator, Matangi is flawed, frustrating, and occasionally confusing, but it's also intermittently brilliant and completely unique.

80
NME

She’s reminded us exactly why she’s important: she’s a hyper-intuitive artist with a mongrel sensibility who bows to no one. 

80
Q Magazine
The qualities that make M.I.A. a tough sell is the same one that fuels her restless, hungry, inspirational music.
80
musicOMH

The result is an album with more ideas crammed into it than most other releases this year put together. It may not always work, but when it does, M.I.A. can still sound like the most exciting pop star on the planet.

70
Rolling Stone
She shows little need to resolve contradictions or make her dazzling scraps cohere. But the magic is in the frisson.
70
The Needle Drop
On M.I.A.'s latest record, the UK-based rapper, singer, and producer takes a small step away from the noisy production that made her last record so bombastic, but still manages to deliver a series of smart, infectious, and wild banger-style party tracks.
70
Slant Magazine

Matangi again establishes M.I.A. as one of the most fascinating figures in modern music, but the personal voice underlying her material remains aggravatingly half-baked.

70
Under the Radar

Her signature chaotic, frantic kitchen sink of noises permeate every song. There isn't much shift from album to album. She's found what works and she sticks to it. 

70
Tiny Mix Tapes

Poppy but pugnacious, familiar and yet dizzyingly foreign, Matangi is a contrarian work from an artist who lavishes us with liminality, with contradictions.

70
Drowned in Sound

Matangi is a welcome return to form that consolidates on the agenda set out in MAYA.

65
Pitchfork

Matangi is not without charms, but unlike her most potent releases it sounds less interested in pushing and prodding the culture forward and more content to soar safely above it. 

60
NOW Magazine

M.I.A. is good at circumventing dance music clichés, often through sheer polyrhythmic excess it’s hard to stay still during effusive bangers like Y.A.L.A., Matangi and tribal-trap anthem Warriors.

60
AllMusic

Throughout the album, Arulpragasam proves she's as adept as ever at blending different sounds and cultures into a mix that is unmistakably hers

50
A.V. Club

It’s unfortunate that for a record that’s taken so long to make and that has so much artist-driven hype behind it, the most interesting part about Matangi is still just its story, not its songs.

50
PopMatters

Even the best moments on it feel a bit rote and too reminiscent of her finest hours on the first two albums, as if she hasn’t been able to advance her creativity much further.

Host
88

This is way easier to digest than maya with the same level of quality, plus it’s just full of bangers. I can’t really come up with a ton of thoughts about it, just kinda slaps.

GersonAOTY
82

Matangi is a great reflection of M.I.A.'s discography with eccentric melodies never heard before in the pop world and at the same time more elegant and captivating vocals. Matangi brings several themes related to Hinduism, including reincarnation and karma, it's a characteristic in the lyrics, with the songs mixing western and oriental styles. The only problem I have on this project is that sometimes M.I.A.'s creativity it's so huge that the album sounds less cohesive in my opinion and there ... read more

ImpalaLT
89

This was definitely a surprise.

M.I.A. never really returned with a vengeance, but this album keeps the energy from her past albums while also making this her most accessible work. This was surprisingly very enjoyable.

Favorite: Bad Girls
Least Favorite: Lights

Host
88

This is way easier to digest than maya with the same level of quality, plus it’s just full of bangers. I can’t really come up with a ton of thoughts about it, just kinda slaps.

innocentmoon
92

only 1 u outro is org/\smic

90

This album is addictive. I thought it was alright the first thing time I listened to it, and a few days later some of the songs had gotten stuck in my head. I then decided to listen to the album again, and it was even better the second time. All the songs are good, and constantly in my rotation when I'm exercising or just listening in the car. Some of the songs are chaotic and crazy with really high energy, others are slick and catchy. I think that this is an amazingly catchy and creative ... read more

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Track List

1Karmageddon
1:34
87
2Matangi
5:12
90
3Only 1 U
3:12
90
4Warriors
3:41
84
5Come Walk With Me
4:43
79
6aTENTion
3:40
86
7Exodus
5:08
85
8Bad Girls
3:47
95
9Boom Skit
1:15
90
10Double Bubble Trouble
2:59
89
11Y.A.L.A.
4:23
87
12Bring the Noize
4:35
91
13Lights
4:35
77
14Know It Ain't Right
3:42
88
15Sexodus
4:50
91
Total Length: 57 minutes

Year End Lists

#10/Idolator
#10/TIME
#11/Spin
#12/NME
#15/Clash
#24/Paste
#26/Pigeons & Planes
#32/Complex
#46/Pitchfork
#47/Rolling Stone
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Added on: January 7, 2013