M.I.A., 'Matangi'

Mathangi Arulpragasam, also known as M.I.A., intended to leak her latest album, the quasi-self titled “Matangi,” when her label, Interscope, refused to release it in a timely manner. Music bloggers at the time called this “pulling a Death Grips,” a reference to the guerilla release of that group’s 2011 LP, “No Love Deep Web.” Now, with “Matangi” finally out in record stores, the comparison seems oddly prophetic.

The record is dense and abrasive. Songs constantly change rhythms, vocal samples sputter in and out of the mix and, clocking in at 57 minutes, the LP isn’t exactly easy to sit through in its entirety. In fact, with the exception of “Exodus,” “Sexodus” (both produced by The Weeknd) and single “Bad Girls,” the beats are so abrasive and warped that they really do recall producer Flatlander’s work with the aforementioned Death Grips. The lyrics are equally obscure. One minute M.I.A. is referencing esoteric political and world events, the next she’s rattling off a list of seemingly random locations.

It should be said that I listened to this album with a friend of mine who is more familiar with M.I.A.’s discography than I am. At one point, Spotify played two of the album’s songs at once, one over the other, and it took us nearly two minutes of confused head-bobbing before we figured out the polyrhythmic monstrosity wasn’t just another strange track.

“Matangi” is wildly inventive and never afraid to be confrontational. At times it sounds disjointed, no doubt a result of its extended incubation period, but that only contributes to its warped charm. The singles prove instantly enjoyable, while nearly everything else remains admirably inscrutable. Though “Matangi” is one of 2013’s densest and most exhausting records, it’s also one of the year’s most rewarding.