Arular

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
IArular/I is the sort of record that gets people talking. The debut full-length by Maya Arulpragasam, a refugee of Sri Lankan heritage who settled in London, attended Saint Martin's art school, and designed sleeves for Elastica, it's already set a few dancefloors on fire and stirred up no small amount of controversy in the process. In brief summary: its name is a reference to her father, an active member of the Sri Lankan guerrilla movement Tamil Tigers, a militancy which extends to the album within: "I got the bombs to make you blow", she sings on "Pull Out The People". Still, whatever you make of the ideology, there's no doubting the excellent tunes: self-penned on a basic groovebox and fleshed out with help from producers like Pulp's Steve Mackay and Richard X, the likes of "Bucky Done Gun" and "Galang" dice together all manner of global styles – hip-hop, Bhangra, Jamaican dancehall – and top it off with unmistakable, multi-cultural London sass. Best of all is "Hombre", a come-hither number that should get the boys trembling at the knees: "Excuse me little hombre/ Take my number, call me/ I can get squeaky so/ You can come and oil me" I--Louis Pattison/I

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-10-15 rating:
Very very good!
This is the sound of the 21st century. This is the sound of globalisation (and proof that that needn't necessarily be a dirty word!) This is the sound you'll want to hear again and again and again. If you like your music safe and formulaic, steer clear of this. But if you want to hear something fresh, then this may be just what you're looking for...

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review by: date: 2007-10-01 rating:
v cool album
Listen, why bother criticising an artist like that? One person says the 'good but beats are wrong', then one says 'good but the vocals are wrong'. Just take it as it is, and review it as it is. It's a great album in its own way (it seems to get a lot of hassle as it can't be boxed in with one genre or another). Undoubtably sounds like a debut album and MIA's new album is a bit different to this, but this still sounds fresh, interesting and pretty damn fine to me.

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review by: date: 2007-02-06 rating:
Keep the vocals, put some attitude in the beats
Some seem to like the beats on this album but not the vocals, I am the opposite. While I really like her delivery, the beats seem really wet to me. If this had some traditional drum and bass percussion it would be awesome. I would love to hear her vocals against the kind of soundscape Asian Dub Foundation produce. (and I'm not saying that because they're another South Asian group). br /Another thing worth mentioning is that she is better when rapping about herself than trying to be political. br / All in all an OK debut, but she could do with some outside input if it didnt negate her individual charm.

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review by: date: 2007-01-18 rating:
Innovative and Interesting
[...]--there's really no reason to attack the woman's accent because you find it too "upper middle class," for example. I will agree that her vocals and her delivery are really a matter of taste. She's definitely from the Gwen Stefani school of sharp sopranos, and she sometimes throws out phrases like she's trying her very hardest to keep you from falling asleep at the wheel. But that's the point in a lot of ways: this is an aggressive record, with aggressive sounds, an aggressive set of messages, and aggresive delivery. But it's also a fantastically global album, with a truly global sound--in this way, M.I.A may be more like Shakira than Missy Elliot, perfectly comfortable throwing together Brazilian, South Asian, and rap influences together in a way that doesn't suit everyone, but is very appealing if you like the sound of her voice and her repetitive, percussive, firecracker songcraft.


review by: date: 2006-09-24 rating:
freshest record of 2005
OK, so taste is taste, but i'm amazed at all the negative reviews for one of the freshest, most original, and goddammit brilliant records of recent years. If you like the sound of a Missy Elliot without the #@!$ ballads and a London emigre slant then this is for you. Arular is, quite frankly, the Nuts!

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