-- M.I.A, "Matangi" (Interscope)


Named after a ghetto Hindu goddess, M.I.A.'s fourth proper album pops with a relentless pounce and is filled with all the paradoxical imagery that the intro's title "Karmageddon" conjures.


On the call-to-arms title track she breaks it down as a tsunami of percussion mounts: "It's so simple/Get to the floor." Then sets it off simply by rhyming different places — "Gambia/Namibia/Bali/Mali/Chile/Malawi" — in her inimitable cadence.


But it's never simple with M.I.A. because in her words she's "Got a reputation/People see me as trouble." She plays vocal acrobat on "Bring The Noize," tabbing herself the "female Slick Rick" and unleashing spitfire bars like "Do you like my perfumes?/I made it at home with some gasoline and shrooms." Her playful side rhymes "giddy up" with "light the city up" and boards Boeings eating bananas. On "atTENTion" she flips the syllable "tent" 50 different ways.


Production by Switch, Hit-Boy, Danja and The Partysquad is just as enigmatic. Take "Double Bubble Trouble" where a trap intro gives way to a Rastafari sway before hitting up the dancehall and riding out on a beat Omar Souleyman might floss over. On other tracks, The Weeknd samples, intermittent "ohmmms" and slinking woofers flit through stutter-step rhythms and furrowed bass. Picture fire alarms going off in Trinidadian clubs.


Songs like "Lights" and "Come Walk With Me" are nice encapsulations of the record's split personality: part pop gold, part way out there. Even when M.I.A.'s feeling frisky it's nowhere near a quiet storm. She's either wondering "How come all this drama's still trending?" or making "love like origami," as guards set up outside.


At one point she mandates: "If you're gonna be me you need a manifesto." Based on the shrill stance here, hers might go something like this "Karmageddon line: "My words are my armor and you're about to meet your karma."




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  • 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival - Day 3


    CHICAGO, IL - JULY 21: M.I.A. performs onstage during the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park on July 21, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images)




  • M.I.A


    M.I.A is seen at the Opening Ceremony 10 Year Party on Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Donald Traill/Invision/AP Images)




  • In this picture taken Thursday, July 5, 2012 British songwriter M.I.A. performs at the Stravinski Hall stage during the 46th Montreux Jazz Festival, in Montreux, Switzerland. (AP Photo/Keystone/Laurent Gillieron)




  • Nicki Minaj, left, and M.I.A. perform during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl XLVI football game between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)




  • DENMARK ROSKILDE FESTIVAL


    British and Sri Lankan artist M.I.A. alias Mathangi 'Maya' Arulpragasam, performs during her concert at Roskilde Festival Saturday July 2, 2011, in Roskilde, Denmark. (AP Photo/POLFOTO, Tobias Noergaard Pedersen) DENMARK OUT




  • 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival - Day 3


    CHICAGO, IL - JULY 21: M.I.A. performs onstage during the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park on July 21, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images)




  • 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival - Day 3


    CHICAGO, IL - JULY 21: M.I.A. performs onstage during the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park on July 21, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images)




  • Etam Live Show Lingerie 2013 - Runway


    PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 26: M.I.A. performs during the Etam Live Show Lingerie at Bourse du Commerce on February 26, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/French Select via Getty Images)




  • Etam Live Show Lingerie 2013 - Runway


    PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 26: M.I.A. (L) performs during the Etam Live Show Lingerie at Bourse du Commerce on February 26, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/French Select via Getty Images)




  • 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival - Day 3


    CHICAGO, IL - JULY 21: M.I.A. performs onstage during the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival at Union Park on July 21, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images)




  • M.I.A Live In Sydney


    SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 04: M.I.A performs live on stage at Enmore Theatre on January 4, 2013 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cassandra Hannagan/WireImage)




  • Etam Live Show Lingerie 2013 - Runway


    PARIS, FRANCE - FEBRUARY 26: M.I.A. rehearses prior to the Etam Live Show Lingerie at Bourse du Commerce on February 26, 2013 in Paris, France. (Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff/French Select via Getty Images)




  • M.I.A. Artist's Lecture


    NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 04: M.I.A. speaks at the M.I.A. Artist's Lecture at MoMA PS.1 on November 4, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Ben Gabbe/Getty Images)




  • Stella McCartney: Front Row - Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2013


    PARIS, FRANCE - OCTOBER 01: M.I.A attends the Stella McCartney Spring / Summer 2013 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on October 1, 2012 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michel Dufour/WireImage)




  • Smart forjeremy Showcar By Jeremy Scott - World Premiere


    HOLLYWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 27: Singer M.I.A. performs during the World Premiere of the smart forjeremy Showcar by Jeremy Scott at Jim Henson Studios on November 27, 2012 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by John Sciulli/Getty Images for smart)




  • Versace: Front Row - Paris Fashion Week Haute Couture F/W 2012/13


    PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 01: M.I.A. attends the Versace Haute-Couture show as part of Paris Fashion Week Fall / Winter 2012/13 at the Ritz hotel on July 1, 2012 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images)




  • Kenzo: Front Row - Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring / Summer 2013


    PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 30: Singer M.I.A. attends the Kenzo Spring / Summer 2013 show as part of Paris Fashion Week at Maison Du Judo on September 30, 2012 in Paris, France. (Photo by Michel Dufour/Wireimage)




  • Opening Ceremony Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Week Party


    NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 09: M.I.A. attends the Opening Ceremony Spring/Summer 2013 Fashion Week Party at Webster Hall on September 9, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Alli Harvey/Getty Images)




  • Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show


    INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 05: M.I.A. performs during the Bridgestone Super Bowl XLVI Halftime Show at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic)




  • Sonar 2011 Festival in Barcelona - Day 2


    BARCELONA, SPAIN - JUNE 17: M.I.A performs on stage during the second day of the Sonar 2011 Festival on June 17, 2011 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)