KEY POINTS:
Herald rating: * * * *
When M.I.A raps about representing "World Town", she's not exaggerating. For her second album she went on a passport stamp-collecting sojourn, recording bits and pieces in India, Trinidad, Australia, Jamaica, Japan and America.
No matter whose music she picked up along the way, be it Indian percussion, roadside sound systems or didgeridoo, Maya Arulpragasam still dances to the beat of her own drum. That makes for an album that is every bit as challenging and innovative as her offbeat debut Arular in 2005.
That album, nominated for the Mercury prize, was an exotic dance mix of grime, baile funk and politically charged lyrics about her childhood split between London and Sri Lanka. It was also a rough'n'ready creation produced with just a keyboard in what sounded like a barren basement. Its grimy, street appeal, coupled with M.I.A's unique vocal mannerisms and banging tribal beats, was an acquired yet highly original taste. Add to that her rebel-rousing lyrics and M.I.A became a star of the underground. Sunflowers was even banned from MTV because of references to suicide bombers. Last year she was refused a US visa for her support for the Tamil Tigers.
Her second album Kala shares Arular's free spirit and ballsy attitude, but M.I.A has kicked it up a notch.
Originally she wanted to work with Timbaland but it's a relief he didn't chip in on more than one track here - even his contribution (Come Around) sounds tame compared to the rest of M.I.A's production, the eclectic sound of her travels, right down to street-level taxi rides and zooming motorbikes.
Many artists trying to do world music get bogged down with a sense of earnestness. M.I.A manages to incorporate flavours most others wouldn't touch with a barge pole, wrapping them into something exciting, new and funny. Jimmy plunders the kind of old-school disco beats that would embarrass most people under 30, while she coos "take me on a genocide tour, take me on a truck to Darfur" with a playfulness that suggests she's singing about boys in summer.
It's those shock-pop contrasts that make this work. On Paper Planes she doesn't bother with words, relying instead on gunshots to do the talking. Kala still suffers from M.I.A's grating rap style but there's so much else going on, so many intriguing layers, exotic ideas and savvy commentary, it's impossible not to want to grab your passport and jump on board.
Label: Inertia/The Label
Verdict: Second helping of dance-pop escapism for those who read the world section
