Album Review: M.I.A. - Maya

The third album from Sri Lanka-born, UK-based artist M.I.A. is something of a middle ground or trade-off between her experimental beginnings and her rising status as a pop celebrity. It feels like she is maturing and with it becoming less controversial.
On Maya the playfulness is ever so slightly diminished and the songs about political rebellion are joined by ones about relationships, stardom and getting drunk. The crazier moments of raucous beats, odd samples and strange vocals that characterised her first two albums, Arular and Kala, have also given way in places
to a more melodic and industrial sound.
But it's all still fast-paced fun and, if anything, a more seamless and compact album.
The most controversial thing about Maya is that it's less controversial.