M.I.A. - AIM

M.I.A.
AIM
2016
Spotify

M.I.A. can never be called safe. Her beliefs, often maligned both in media and by the public, have gotten her into more trouble than her music has as of late even sparking an interview in Rolling Stone where M.I.A. praised the 2000s saying everything from Music to Sex was just better than. The validity of that statement is weak at best, but you would think that would mean that she would try and bring that energy that she feels is missing back to the world, but that is not what we get. Instead AIM is perhaps one of M.I.A.'s safest albums to date. Even the lyrical content compares to be anything quite as cutting or fascinating as "Paper Planes". Zyan who as a fellow Indian you would think bring some kind of political statement to their song together "Freedun" but anything of the like simply falls flat. "Foreign Friend" continues the down tempo style more at ease just floating along that bringing a real powerful message forward. She hints at that old edge on "Finally" but it is so fleeting and so watered down that any of that old brat punk vibe that endeared Her to so many is almost completely gone. Even "Borders" which was supposed to be her return to form and blasting of the refugee crisis in Europe, never fully develops and falls flat.

Even M.I.A's sound has lost that interesting feel to it. We get some of it back on "Ali r u ok?" with it's Indian inspired rhythms, but she sleep walks her way through the track never really letting us fully in. You never get that hook that brings you deep into a tracks orbit she is more content to keep you at arms length. AIM does not feel like you are being preached to, more like you are sitting through a rather boring lecture as the professors drones on and on about something you know is important, but it just is not coming to life in this person's hands. "Fly Pirate" is maybe the first time we get a truly weird M.I.A and it really does work. Even at 17 tracks the Deluxe version of the record offers little to get excited about, and feels more like a smashing of thoughts than anything else. While the results of this album may not be exactly what she was looking for in terms of impact it really is important to have someone like M.IA. out there who is dealing with the perils of a world seemingly off it's axis. Her voice is an important one even if sometimes we don't like exactly what she is saying.

6.0 out of 10