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AIM (album)

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Untitled

AIM is the fifth studio album by English recording artist M.I.A, released on 9 September 2016 by Interscope and Polydor. Prior to its release, the rapper claimed that it would be her final album. M.I.A. worked on the composition and production of the album with a range of collaborators, including Blaqstarr, Diplo and Skrillex.

AIM received generally mixed reviews from music critics, some praising certain songs but commenting on the album's lack of focus.

Composition and recording

M.I.A. released her fourth album Matangi in November 2013. Although it received generally positive reviews,[1] it failed to match the commercial performance of her previous two albums. The rapper's next album was originally going to be titled Matahdatah and have the concept of an audio-visual series filmed around the world, but on 14 July 2016, M.I.A. confirmed the new title of the album, AIM.[2] She considered it her most positive work, saying that there were "no complaints" on it, and claimed that it would be her last album.[3]

The track "Swords" was recorded during a trip to India.[4]

Music and lyrics

The track "Swords" uses the sound of clashing swords as percussion.[4]

Lyrically, a number of tracks on the album contain themes of borders and refugees.[5]

Release and artwork

The official track listing of the deluxe edition was announced on 18 August 2016.[6] The album's cover artwork was revealed on the same day and features a cropped photograph of the rapper on an orange and black background.

Promotion

Producer Diplo, who had collaborated with M.I.A. on her first three albums, returned to working with the rapper following a personal dispute.

A number of the songs from the album were made available ahead of the album's release, either as singles or through other media. The first teaser of the project came in May 2015, when M.I.A. shared the demo version of the track "Platforms" on her SoundCloud page.[7] "The New International Sound Pt. 2" was first released in June 2015, as part of French producer Surkin's project GENER8ION. "Swords" and "Borders" were both released later the same year.[8] In March of the following year, M.I.A. debuted "MIA OLA" (later renamed "Visa") via her SoundCloud.[9] The song originally sampled Elton John's song "Circle of Life" from the film The Lion King, but she later announced via Periscope that she had replaced the "Circle of Life" sample with a sample of her own early single, "Galang". The complete album, consisting of 12 tracks, was previewed on Periscope on 17 May 2016.[10]

"Go Off" was released on 15 July 2016 as the lead single from the album. The Blaqstarr-produced version of the next single "Bird Song" was released on 12 August 2016. The Diplo version of the song was released on 18 August 2016.[2][11][12] The fifth single from the album, "Freedun", was released on 2 September 2016.[13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic65/100[14]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[15]
The A.V. ClubC–[16]
Consequence of SoundB–[17]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[18]
Exclaim![19]
The Guardian[20]
The Independent[21]
Pitchfork5.9/10[22]
Rolling Stone[23]
Slant Magazine[5]

AIM received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Writing in The Guardian, Harriet Gibsone noted the album's "vision, scope and experimentation" but described it overall as "frustratingly unfocused".[20] Greg Cochrane of the magazine Loud and Quiet praised several individual tracks but described the album as sounding "disparate, like a collection of ideas rather than songs".[24] El Hunt, in DIY, said that the album is "colliding jangling rhythms with brash, lane-switching pop parps", and described the album as "abrasive" and "divisive".[25]

A more positive review came from Stephen Carlick of Exclaim!, who was slightly critical of the album's length but noted that there was "plenty here to love" and stated that overall it was "focused and purposeful, a loose collection characterized by sticky-hot swagger, political awareness and, most importantly, urgency."[19]

Commercial performance

Upon its release, the album debuted at number 1 on the iTunes Electronic albums chart.[26] Five of the album's songs charted on the iTunes Electronic music chart upon its release. "Freedun", "Go Off", "Borders", the Diplo version of "Bird Song", and "Visa" charted at numbers 13, 19, 32, 47 and 60 respectively.[27]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Universal Music[28] and Tidal.[29]

AIM – Standard version[30]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Borders"
  • M.I.A.
  • ADP
  • Lennox
4:11
2."Go Off"
  • Skrillex
  • Blaqstarr
  • M.I.A.
3:04
3."Bird Song" (Blaqstarr version)
  • Blaqstarr
  • M.I.A.
  • ADP
3:01
4."Jump In"
  • Arulpragasam
  • Smith
  • Blaqstarr
  • M.I.A.
2:23
5."Freedun" (featuring Zayn)
  • Polow da Don
  • M.I.A.
4:41
6."Foreign Friend" (featuring Dexta Daps)
  • Arulpragasam
  • Louis Grandison
  • Craig Harrisingh
  • David Harrisingh
M.I.A.4:23
7."Finally"
  • Fakear
  • ADP
  • Branko
  • M.I.A.
3:00
8."A.M.P (All My People)"
  • Arulpragasam
  • Moore
3:21
9."Ali R U OK?"
  • Blaqstarr
  • M.I.A.
  • Richard X
3:30
10."Visa"
MC Renee2:51
11."Fly Pirate"
  • Arulpragasam
  • Smith
  • M.I.A.
  • Blaqstarr
2:25
12."Survivor"
  • Arulpragasam
  • Justus Arison
  • M.I.A.
  • Justus
2:59
Total length:39:49
AIM – Deluxe version (bonus tracks)[31]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
13."Bird Song" (Diplo version)
  • Arulpragasam
  • Smith
  • Gnanathesikan
  • Diplo
  • Blaqstarr
  • M.I.A.
3:22
14."The New International Sound Pt. 2" (featuring GENER8ION)
Surkin[a]3:28
15."Swords"
2:25
16."Talk"
  • Arulpragasam
  • Plaate
  • M.I.A.
  • Skrillex
  • Blaqstarr
2:14
17."Platforms"
  • Arulpragasam
  • Leembruggen
  • Fernhout
  • Tevin Plaate
2:55
Total length:54:13
Notes
  • ^[a] credited as part of the project GENER8ION.[32]

References

  1. ^ "Matangi – M.I.A." Metacritic. Retrieved 6 November 2013.
  2. ^ a b Monroe, Jazz (14 July 2016). "M.I.A. Announces New Album Title and Release Date". Pitchfork. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  3. ^ "MIA says new album will be her last". The Guardian. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  4. ^ a b Horner, Al (13 July 2015). "MIA Slays On Sublime New Single 'Swords' - First Listen Review". NME. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  5. ^ a b Goller, Josh (8 September 2016). "ALBUM REVIEW: M.I.A. 'AIM'". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  6. ^ Renshaw, David (18 August 2016). "M.I.A. Shares AIM Album Track List". The Fader. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  7. ^ "M.I.A. shares demo for new song 'Platforms'". Fact. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  8. ^ Kreps, Daniel (14 July 2015). "Watch M.I.A.'s 'Matahdatah' Video Featuring New Track 'Swords'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  9. ^ Cooper, Leonie (17 March 2016). "Donald Trump Needs To Listen To MIA's 'Lion King'-Sampling New Track 'MIA OLA'". NME. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  10. ^ Platon, Adelle (18 May 2016). "M.I.A. Reveals Being in Talks with Rihanna for Collaboration". Billboard. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  11. ^ Renshaw, David (14 July 2016). "MIA To Release New Album AIM In September". The Fader. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
  12. ^ Blistein, Jon (17 March 2016). "M.I.A. Unleashes 'MIA OLA,' 'Foreign Friend,' Samples 'Lion King'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  13. ^ Minsker, Evan (1 September 2016). "M.I.A. and Zayn Malik Share New Song "Freedun": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Reviews for AIM by M.I.A." Metacritic. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 12 September 2016.
  15. ^ Phares, Heather (9 September 2016). "AIM - M.I.A." AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  16. ^ Moayeri, Lily (9 September 2016). "M.I.A. misses the mark on AIM". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  17. ^ http://consequenceofsound.net/2016/09/album-review-m-i-a-aim/
  18. ^ Rahman, Ray (9 September 2016). "M.I.A.'s AIM: EW Review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  19. ^ a b Carlick, Stephen (8 September 2016). "M.I.A. A.I.M." Exclaim!. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
  20. ^ a b Gibsone, Harriet (1 September 2016). "MIA: AIM review – fearless but fragmented global pop". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
  21. ^ Gill, Andy (8 September 2016). "Album reviews: Wilco – Wilco Schmilco, Jack White – Acoustic Recordings, MIA – AIM, and more". The Independent. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  22. ^ http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22396-aim/
  23. ^ Dolan, Jon (8 September 2016). "Review: M.I.A.'s 'AIM' Keeps Things Radical". Rolling Stone. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  24. ^ Cochrane, Greg (August 2016). "MIA, 'AIM' – Album review « Loud And Quiet". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  25. ^ Hunt, El (6 September 2016). "M.I.A. - A.I.M. | DIY". DIY. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  26. ^ "iTunes Electronic albums chart". iTunes. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  27. ^ "iTunes Electronic music chart". iTunes. 11 September 2016. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  28. ^ ""A.I.M.", le retour de M.I.A." (in French). Universal Music France. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  29. ^ "Listen to AIM (Deluxe) by M.I.A. on Tidal". Tidal. 9 September 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  30. ^ "AIM (Deluxe) by M.I.A." iTunes Store (NZ). Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  31. ^ Minsker, Evan (19 August 2016). "M.I.A. Details New Album A.I.M.". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  32. ^ Gordon, Jeremy (22 May 2015). "M.I.A. Teams With Surkin's Gener8ion on "The New International Sound Pt. II"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
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