This summer just keeps coming with more goodness than we can endure (maybe) but to add to the madness is M.I.A.’s 3rd album, /\/\ /\ Y /\, follows the internationally critically acclaimed records Arular (2005) and Kala (2007). Like its predecessors /\/\ /\ Y /\ deftly mixes politics, social consciousness, and inimitable genre blending. Perhaps as much a political statement as a musical one, the new album scathingly takes on our ever-increasing dependence on the digital world.
Influences on the sound of /\/\ /\ Y /\ include dubstep, electro, punk, and pop but the end result is not so easy to define. With songs geared towards the dance floor (“XXXO”, “Teqkilla”), the rock club (“Born Free”), or towards a quiet moment alone (“It Iz What Iz”), /\/\ /\ Y /\ covers a lot of ground, but is held together by the controversial and incomparable aesthetic of one Maya Arulpragasam. Avaiable to purchase here.
