Music Review: "AIM"

It’s an easy pun, but “AIM,” the latest and possibly last album by the Sri Lankan pop provocateur M.I.A., is a little aimless. The supposed coda to one of the most fascinating, exciting, and frustrating careers of the past fifteen years, “AIM” is just what you’d expect from a latter-day M.I.A. album: innovative production, charismatic rapping and singing, and trenchant social commentary. So why does it all feel so rote?

M.I.A.’s lyrics have never been her strongest suit. She is fond of political and social witticisms—indeed, it’s absolutely commendable that she’s been the most politically vocal pop star of the new millennium—but it’s easy to forget that she’s never been all that witty. Her statements derive their kick from pithy bluntness and sheer swagger, both in short supply on “AIM.” Lead single “Borders” never surpasses the intellectual level of “Borders…what’s up with that?/Politics…what’s up with that?” and the anti-materialist screed of “Bird Song” is doomed by a series of increasing cheesy avian puns. “Bird Song” shows up on the album twice via the “official” version produced by Blaqstarr and the initially label-blocked Diplo version, yet only the Diplo version’s sprightly dancehall mitigates the utter silliness of the lyrics.

“AIM,” as with M.I.A.’s last two albums "Maya” and “Matangi,” is a masterwork of production. This album showcases the likes of Skrillex, Lennox, Elastica’s Justine Frischmann, and the aforementioned Blaqstarr and Diplo, and the best tracks blend M.I.A.’s now-classic futuristic global pop with the imprint of their producer. “Swords” marries a clashing sample of the titular weapons to a loping breakbeat that sounds like a RenFaire rave, while the Frischmann-produced “Visa” calls back to 2003’s “Galang” that really emphasizes just how forward-thinking M.I.A.’s brand of pop has been and intermittently continues to be. Complete misfires like the soporific Blaqstarr version of “Bird Song” and the formless “Jump In” are few and far between—even “Borders” has a rollicking Middle Eastern trap beat reminiscent of “Bad Girls”—but there’s not much indelible fare here.

The two best songs here marry a more acute pop sensibility to the global eclecticism on which M.I.A. has built her brand. The Skrillex-produced “Go Off” weds traditional Indian instrumentation to au courant synth-stabs, all of which adds up to one of her straight-up poppiest songs since the aforementioned “Bad Girls.” “Freedun,” featuring a robotic and mesmerizing hook from Zayn Malik, is similarly poppy in a different way. The song positively floats, and lyrically it’s the strongest track on the album (save for the unforgivably corny intro). Would M.I.A. to theoretically make another album, “Go Off” and “Freedun” could indicate an interesting direction for her to go in. As it currently stands, though, pop’s most reliable firecracker has gone out with a whimper, not a bang.