1001 Albums Generator
Arular by M.I.A.

Arular

M.I.A.

2005
2.82
Rating
22120
Votes
1
14%
2
24%
3
33%
4
22%
5
6%
Distribution
Genres: Hip-Hop, Electronica Styles: Breakbeat, Grime, Electro, Dancehall

Reviews (page 5 of 7)

Well that was exciting and awesome!

This is truly a little bit of a racket. I was at the prime age for this record when it came out. Part of what M.I.A. was doing felt so new to us at the time. Listening to the first few songs it's a shame she married like a billionaire (right?) and went off the deep end politically. I really enjoyed the parts of this record that sort of imply that there's some diaspora of immigrants from all over the world. I wish that was real as an immigrant, but not a refugee...lol. The Sunflower sample was interesting and something I wouldn't have caught when this first came out. The rest of it other than Hombre? Lame. Hombre is a great song that will be stuck in my head all day long. Other than the whole potentially marrying a billionaire, the thing M.I.A. wouldn't be able to get away with now is using Jamaican slang/fake Jamaican accents in these songs. I guess she is from London, but being from London doesn't make you Jamaican too? There are a lot of Jamaicans there, so maybe some of them approved. But in 2024, it sounds tacky af. Anyway, good little flashback with this one. I enjoyed it but I doubt I will return. Goodbye, forever....M.I.A.!

Definitely trying to put on a persona. Mish mash of sounds and rapping but all ties together nicely. Would throw it into the rotation now and then.

love MIA! this is such a percussive album. so many fun noises i don’t hear that often!

I would give this a real review if she wasn't a weird anti-vaxxer

Why does she get two mentions on this list, exactly? This one is arguably worse than the last because it doesn't have paper planes which is her sole banger - the rest is mash.

Favorite Track: Bingo

Listen to it...interested...not my 7sual listen..but then this is what this is all about...seems to be a very marmite album with either 5 star or 1 star! I'll give it 3. Interesting but not sure I'll listen again

I gave myself a pass after the first 2 songs... its a no for me.

It’s not my favorite of hers, but it’s still pretty fun. Would likely not revisit though.

This was such a terrible fucking album. I couldn't listen to any one song all the way through. I need a palate cleanser and legitimately something for my newly developed headache. I can't say enough bad things about this. While AWFUL, still not as bad as Velvet Underground 1. Whatever. Skits are lame 2. Absolutely not 3. No 4. No 5. Better than previous songs. Still not good 6. What? Useless 7. Boring AND bad 8. Not sure how this song can be monotone and boring with so much going on. But it is! 9. These songs sound like that song the Italian musician made to sound like English but was just nonsense 10. OK..? 11. No 12. Best part of this album so far is the Sanford and Son theme song sample. Bad otherwise 13. I'm developing a headache 14. Finally done. I feel like Frodo after having dropped the ring into Mount Doom.

I think this was a bold first album from MIA- it really is different from hip hop albums that were popular st the time. I appreciate her vision even if I didnt enjoy it all the time. There were some catchy songs and some that were a little cacaphonous for me. Overall- not bad. 2.5/5

⭐ My Rating: 4.5/5 Global Bangers Screaming in Five Languages This album is LOUD. It’s messy on purpose, and it doesn’t ask for your approval—it claims space like it’s kicking colonialism in the shin and then dancing on the table. It’s not “polished.” It’s powerful. It’s raw, glitchy, chaotic, political, and deeply fun—like if a protest wore a crop top and set your stereo on fire. M.I.A. doesn’t rap at you—she throws entire ideologies at your face in rhyme form.

Fav: 10 Dollar Least Fav: Pull Up The People Really wanted to give this a 4, but whenever there’s a really good beat, M.I.A manages to ruin it in some form, with Bingo being the best example

3.5/5. Actually a pretty solid record, would give it a higher rating but the artist went batshit covid conspiracy crazy.

Kick ass debut. Along with the singles 10 Dollar & Amazon are two of my faves.

There are lots of great glitchy and experimental sounds on Arular that I really enjoy. I think I still prefer M.I.A.'s later albums though. Favorite Songs: "Amazon", "Galang"

Oh wow, the second album from this band on the list? What a treat. If you’ve ever wondered what pure, raw shit sounds like, look no further.

I unapologetically enjoy MIA. I like the vocals. I like the rhythms. I like the south Asian influence on her sound.

Junk. Didn't even have the plane song.

This was, somehow, worse than the other M.I.A. album we had to listen to. How in the world does this artist get multiple albums on the list?

I had really high expectations for this, and thought it would possibly be a 5. But in reality it's nowhere near that kind of talk. It's still good but at times it's quite irritating and annoying more than anything else I'd still give it a 3

weird angular bops, big fan

The more I learn about this lady the cooler this album becomes. Great electronic vibes and her voice is so nice to hear !!

As a white Australian man who has British ancestry, I won’t complain that I had to listen to this album because they had to endure British Colonialisation and the Disastrous impacts that it had on Sri Lanka which resulted in the points she talked about in this album. Whilst it is not my cup of tea, I’m glad I listened to it as is some semblance of her culture and experiences.

Hiphoppia, mutta tosi omanlaista. Hyvällä tavalla. Instrut on aika kansanperinteisiä, mutta samalla aika elektronisia. Diplo on ollut tuottamassa levyä, mikä selittää sitä. Parhaat: Pull Up The People, Bucky Done Gun

nosy hip hop video game

Get vaccinated kids

It's weird, wild, compelling, and completely different from anything else I've heard.

Enjoyable, but forgettable

Really great album. This had me moving along with the music and I really liked it. It is missing the real standouts to make it a 5 but a strong 4.5.

I only really know M.I.A from Paper Planes, which seems to have dropped a few years later in her career. She seems to have become a bit controversal over the past few years, though her music, at least her early work is still getting praise online. Hope it lives up to the hype. Banana - Skit Definitely a start to the album. Seems to have some decent production. Just not what I was expected. NA/5 Pull Up The People Crunchy electronics. Mixed really loudly. Not in love with that hook. I like the experimental beat. Starts a bit rough but improves throughout the track. Okay performance. Average. 2.5/5 Bucky Done Gun Kinda goofy. Terrible trumpet sample. Abdolutely hate the hook. Obnoxious. Her performance on the verse is so low energy, I think she sounds uninterested in her own song. Rhythm at least saves the track slightly. Kinda hate it. 1.5/5 Sunshowers I really can't stand this production. I find her flow quite irritating. I don't like the hook. By the numbers performance. Disappointing. 1.5/5 Fire, Fire The beat is fine. Has a bit better energy to it. Like how rhytmic it is. The electronic "crashes" sort of overpower everything else. Repetitive, annoying. Doesn't really go anywhere. Did not like. 2/5 Dash the Curry - Skit Okay, that exists. NA/5 Amazon Again the production sucks. Terribly balanced, the mix just does not sound good. It's a shame because I think the vocal performance is pretty good. She shows a decent amount of songwriting ability. Fairly impressed with the verses. Okay hook, decently catchy. Could be a decent song but the production ruins it. 2.5/5 Bingo Steel drums suck. No this isn't good, I need to try really hard to find anything to enjoy here. Maybe there are some parts that are cleverly written, but I just can't vibe with the production and I find her sort of unlikable. Turn it off. 1/5 Hombre Sounds large. Appreciate the creative instumentation. Otherwise I kinda dislike everything else I'm hearing. The post chorus instrumental part kinda works. Not for me. 1.5/5 One for the Head Nokia ringtone type beat. NA/5 10 Dollar Promising start. For once I like the production. I don't mind her performance here. She has some charisma and sounds like she's having fun. The lyrics are questionable. Feels problematic. Don't like. 2/5 U.R.A.Q.T I feel like I've given up at this point. This is clearly not for me. This song just comes across as annoying, can't find anything positive to say. Turn it off. 1/5 Galang More of the same. Repetive. Obnoxious production. Not my thing. She is at least having fun. Like how it ends, sort of melodic. Do not like. 2/5 M.I.A Politcal song. It feels slightly confused never really landing anywhere. Has some decent bars, but repeats messaging we've heard time and time again, often executed better. The oppressed rise up, well maybe someday. Ourside of that pretty standard. Average. 2.5/5 Kinda hated that to be honest. Really don't see the appeal. Horrible production, unlikeable performances, and annoying hooks. At least most songs only had one of those at a time. Obviously I'm not the target audience for this, and I'm guessing people from similar backgrounds to M.I.A herself would find things in there that I'd completely overlook. I don't have much positive to say. Honestly had high expectations so I might've let my disappointment colour my reaction. Really didn't have a good time listening. 1.5/5 leaning towards a 1, though subject to rise upon relisten.

Nice beats, interesting lyrical content. I really enjoy a couple of tracks but overall not totally for me. Fav tracks: Bucky Done Gun, Sunshowers, Bingo, 10 Dollar

It's a great debut album mixed of hip-hop, world music, and dance. It's cool, exciting, sometimes weird, and enjoyable throughout. Now I can't remember if it is my first album by MIA or not, but I look forward to others if there are more on the list!

Composition is great, lyrics left a lot to be desired

I didn't really find anything about this album compelling.

1. banana - 1 2. people - 0 3. gun - 1.5 4. zun - 1 5. fire - 1.5 6. curry - 0 7. amazon - 1 8. bingo - 0 9. hombre - 1.5 10. head - 0 11. dollar - 1.5 12. uraq - 0 13. galang - 1.5 14. mia - 1.5

I liked this more than “Kala”, but it still wasn’t doing much for me.

3.8 - I really enjoyed the first half of this, however it started to feel really similar and felt like it was track after track, instead of a really choreographed album

M.I.A.'s sound is pretty distinct, and for that reason you can argue it as a good 1001 inclusion, but, and big but, this album doesn't have Paper Planes on it, soooo... not sure how necessary it is. The first 6 or so tracks are quite abrasive and noisy in a way I don't find particularly appealing. The second half has way more interesting cuts such as Amazon, Bingo and even the silly U.R.A.Q.T. An ok album but just makes me thirsty for PP. Fave Tracks: Amazon, Bingo 3.2/5

interesting and chaotic. good beats and rhythms too

Interesting that "U.R.A.Q.T." samples the theme song from "Sanford and Son". This might be an innovative choice; or perhaps this means that hip-hop artists have long since run out of riffs to rip off.

Stylish well produced stuff. I just happened to hate almost every second of this listening exercise.

And once again we are in the zone that is out of my interest. Listening this album through was not very easy or enjoyable.

Even tho I'm not particularily interested in EDM in general, I recognize the merits of this album. It's was interesting enough to not skip tracks or otherwise get frustrated, but this is not music I'd put on myself.

I tried. Really did. Kept waiting for a catch... then resorted to clicking on each song, to no avail... The Sampling was obnoxious and lame...

M.I.A. is an awesome find and a great add to this list, however this is my second M.I.A. album and it's not too different than the other one I've heard. bUt NeiL y0uNg some may say and while softly agreeing, I will counter with NY and his CSNY cronies that may seem overpopulated on this list offer variety and varying influence that this record is missing. 3/5

I respect M.I.A. protest music but Arular is way to beatsy and dance for me. 4.2/10

Just didn’t grab me.

flawless. badass girl vibes, goes hard. gonna check the explanation, seems interesting

Okay album. Interesting meld of different genres of music.

I like this about as much as the other one of these.

3/6/25. I always appreciate artists who push the boundaries, especially in hip hop. M.I.A. does that here and although the songs aren't extraordinary, it kept me engaged throughout.

Not quite as bad as ‘Kala’, M.I.A.’s other album on the 1001 albums list. There’s patches here on ‘Arular’ that are almost ok, but on the whole it’s still pretty shit.

It was middling.

Gar nicht meins

I kind of liked this album, it was fun, interesting and kind of cute!

One of those “separate the art from the artist” things for M.I.A. I like her music, but not so much her recent politics. Still, good album

It's fine. I like what she's trying to do, I just don't love the product.

WTAF on legs was that. Truly a dreadful, incoherent mess. Album 999 & definitely one of the 10 worst.

1 Катастрофа

This album have a some proto- trap style. Some songs have a reggaeton drops.

This album is a complete mess from start to finish. It's very hard to find any redeeming qualities here-just muddles and forgettable album that fails to deliver anything of value.

What the fuck was this? And why?

Bad bad noise. Hated it.

Apparently she likes bananas.

Not quite my cup of tea. I liked the energy, especially with the instrumentals, but the vocal work was a bit of a miss for me most tracks. 'Fire, Fire' was my fave though.

The whole album has a fun sound to it, well curated and it flowed well. 4.5

Not bad, but not real hits sticking out

Is crazy how Bucky Done Gun sounds exactly like Anitta's' english songs. Overall is just okay-ish.

Yeah... not my thing. The one MIA song I know "Paper Planes" was not on this album and I didn't recognize any of the songs. It all felt too much. Like my ears were being assaulted. Take that back... I had heard the song "Galang" before because someone wanted to use it on a Honda spot I once cut but it was either a cover or a different mix of the song. Because this version was too aggressive for what the spot was. In doing some research... it does appear it was used on the spot but there were other mixes that we must have used.

This album is too annoying to be as catchy as it is. It gets pretty similar sounding, but is unique compared to anything else. I want more experimentation and variety with her touch on it. This is like a tease of what could exist with some extra vision.

this was tolerable on the beginning but as i got to the last few songs i couldnt stand it anymore, this album sucks man, how is this here?

Great energy! Distinctive sound. Tracks start to sound a bit interchangeable by the end. New find for me, will probably come back to it. 3.5

The variety kept the score high

I somehow didn't hate this like I assumed I would...repetitious but fun and solid beats. Enjoyed it way more than I thought

I didn't love it, but it was very interesting. Huge Missy Elliot influence here. Certainly wasn't trying to fit a mold.

Bright, vivid, distinctive, though a little bit repetitive and also a bit annoying. I can see how she winds people up a bit.

I only know M.I.A. as a one hit wonder with the song Paper Planes. That song isn't on this album though, which makes me curious as to why this album is on the list. After listening I'm still not sure why this album is on the list. It may have had some impact in its scene but I don't know enough about electronica to know. This didn't do anything for me.

Like the other MIA album on this list, this is way more focussed on percussion rather than melody. Sadly, the percussion has a lot of bells and whistles to conceal some pretty basic 4/4 beats. If it were more ambitious in that regard I might like it more

Ok I must say I nearly shut this off early but let it rip. If anything, it's different and I've never heard anything like it. Sadly, to struggle through it again would be a chore. Going with a 3 for the sole reason it seemed innovative to me. But in a good direction? Questionable ....would have been better with Rod Serling at the beginning warning that you're entering the Twilight Zone.... ✨

Good lord this album sucked.

Did not expect to rate the paper planes girls album. Super forward thinking for a 2005 album feel like this album could come out this year and feel fresh

Finally, an album to break my “meh” review streak! I didn’t know any of these songs but added a bunch to my favorites playlist. Solid 4!

Several tracks here kinda sounded the same, but I like her attitude and the overall vibe. Fun lyrics as well.

Somebody in my senior thesis cohort learned I liked rap and slipped me a burned CD-R with this on it. What a kindness.

Wacky and wild. Bizarre beats. Repetitive. Weird vibes, but I appreciate how different it is. Don’t think I need to listen to this again, once is enough lol.

Surprised by the good sound

i dub this go-insane electro-something-something and deem myself an insanity enjoyer exciting and unique

Pretty fun and interesting. Favorites: Bucky Done Gun, Dash the Curry

🎧This music is pretty annoying. Favorite track: Sunshowers

oh ffs! There is zero, and I mean ZERO reason for MIA to take up TWO spots on this list.

Slightly less unpleasant than her other album on this list. Which means... She has TWO albums on this list. Why?!? Deduct one star because....down with that sort of thing!

Noise of nothing.

some sounds from the future, some sounds that stayed in the past. To me it felt more like a fashion runway project where you get a lot of interesting and unique sounds almost to be part of something bigger.

This album was a pretty fun listen, but wow, it seemed like so much was happening. I’m not sure I would say it was too busy, but it felt very “in your face”. I wouldn’t say it was a bad thing, but maybe the album could have benefited from bringing it down a notch at times, as to help highlight the high points. Enjoyable nonetheless.

Great at the time, did not age well.

"If Alex Jones pays for lying, shouldn't every celebrity pushing vaccine pay too?" "If I have to choose the vaccine or chip, I'm gonna choose death." The best part of M.I.A. is watching how upset people are; she doesn't think the approved thoughts and your feeble authoritarian minds are mad because the other people are fascists. Strange, you are free to think what you want, as long as it is what I think; yup, that's how fascists do things. Pot meet kettle. As far as this album, meh.

Never liked M.I.A.'s music before and it's confirmed after this listen, I still don't. Nothing relevant for me here and my disinterest in this album shouldn't take away the fact it's probably influential, blah, blah, just not to me. I don't hate it by any stretch, so it's listenable and I might listen again in the near or distant future.

What can be better than hearing some crazy tunes while looking at some beautiful British script on the cover?

not a fan

I was hoping this would be Kala, which is an album of hers that I loved and listened to quite a lot back in the day. Unfortunately this didnt click with me.

It's indubitable that M.I.A albums has many qualities, maybe by the diversity of references or the energy, but this debut album itself is far from what she reached on "Kala", a much better album also on the 1001 list. I'll not be surprised at all if more recent versions of the book only kept only the last.

Just not my thing.

Great stuff

I remember when Len went MIA in Korea. We thought the worst had happened. It was fine, we found him downtown in Seoul eating Bundae Jigae. It was actually Len who first thought of putting spam in it. 3.8

not for me

Really solid album. Found myself bobbing my head along with almost every song, super catchy beats mixed with unapologetic lyrics make for a very fun listen. Not a fan of the skit songs, and some of the middle gets repetitive, but overall a very entertaining listen. Top tracks: Buckly Done Gun, Bingo, 10 Dollar

I was today years old when I realized M.I.A. is Missing in Action and her persona is antiwar protest? She's not just an incredible beat maker and producer, she's also an incredible activist and political dissident. Amazing.

After having some more 'deserving' albums popping up here recently the question has to be, what's this one doing on here? Undeserving in my opinion. Didn't get it, didn't like it

Interesting... But not my kind of music

Not a fan of this album. I'll admit to steering away from rap. I can't follow the lyris, as they are often disjointed. The beat and melodies in this album are too simple to be interesting.

Fun to hear what M.I.A before Paper Planes, some fun samples, classic little bits between songs. It was solid.

Body breaking beats Equal parts club and primal With lil rap ditties

Not for me

Mia is a game changer. This album is very underrated commercially but you can tell how many artists she influenced when this came out. From Taylor Swift, Kate Perry, Rihanna, Minaj, Cardi B and other recent superstars. This album is a melting pop of music and culture from Sri Lanka, England, American, European it has freestyle with hip hop, old school rap and a bit of dancehall. She made sure to cover all the bases and fussion the generes like rice and beans at a puerto rican chinchorro. Really impressive and unexpected makes this a 5 star album. Pure talentand energy

Interesting sounds and instruments. But, it wasn’t enough to save the songs from blending together with one another.

bangers.

headache inducing

idk it was fun i wasn't captivated

Bucky done gun is a banger but I'm not really going to remember the rest of this album

I almost feel sorry for this artist. She is very good, interesting, dynamic and worthy. But I think she is Brazilian or otherwise not in the mainstream American scene and she loses out just by that. I found her refreshing and interesting but I had never heard of her before because that is how marketing works. So there is that. I think she should be a household name, and not to put down the skills of others, she deserves a place at the table that she won't get.

My first cut at this was 'cheerleader, to drum music' I came to like the upbeat tempo

ебать, музон такой что все стреляет пердит и ебет одновременно. и цыганка Сэра сверху накидывает. есть прикол , но так как у меня с цыганами свои счеты больше тройки не поставлю ))

Not really into it, but it was an enjoyable listen.

M.I.A.’s whole deal is basically objectively cool (sans recent developments) but sonically the music just annoys me

Her debut. Hip-hop, dance hall, funk. Really cool mix of styles. Less varied than I hoped.

Utter gibberish.

2.3 Ooo really not my thing. I get it's inclusion though, probably way off the mark in reality, but after a brief listen I get the impression MIA is to hip-hop is what Bjork was to alternative rock when she first went solo. The issue is I love alternative rock, and in general detest hip-hop. So whereas I loved discovering Bjork, I disliked hearing this. Hombre & Amazon the only two tracks I had a positive feeling about, the rest I was wishing the end would approach rapidly.

A lot more interesting than her other album. Pretty good, as far as party music goes.

Les moments où sa voix part dans les aigus est assez insupportable. Malheureusement c'est 50% de chaque chanson.

Great but not her best

Pull Up the People Bucky Done Gun Sunshowers Galang

Loved this back in the 2000s, and coincidentally I revisited it within the last couple of months. Hell of an album. To really enjoy it, I have to take a deep breath and put aside that A) M.I.A.'s more recent music was all very disappointing; B) she seems to have become a crazy conspiracy theorist who sells anti-5G tinfoil hats or something. Once those things are out the way, man this still sounds as good as it did in 2005. The production is infectiously fun, but still heavy-hitting; it's hard to think of anything else that gets this mix of dancehall, pop, garage, hip-hop, and other electronic styles sounding so effortlessly good. Song-writing are delivery are both fire: cool, vibrant, fun, but with a hint that M.I.A. wanted to be a spokesperson for the globally poor and disenfranchised. Amazingly balanced debut album which will always sound great. 5*

Is that.... Sanford and Son?

It's completely all over the place, in a good way. Shame how she ended up, she made some really interesting and out there music for the time.

Spunky and original 3.6

A breath of fresh air after the last album. There is certainly something I enjoy about MIA's music and style. I didn't get quite into this one as much as Kala but it's strong for a debut. Faves: Pull Up the People, Bucky Done Gun

Interesting - I like this a bunch more than "Kala", I think - or I was just in a foul mood when I reviewed it that day. 🤷 Gave this two play throughs and it didn't start to grate. Fave tracks - "Amazon", Hombre" and "10 Dollar" were all fun.

Not in my edition of the book! 2005. 1 star. Hip-hop/rap with a sarf Landan accent. Unbearable. I get the impression she is on the list because she is female, black and British.

Decent, and very different for the time. A solid debut

A hodgepodge of noise as heard through one end of pvc pipe. Once I've heard all 1001 of these "must hear" albums, I'm going to go back and see how many were actually worth my time. Zero stars

9.5/10. What did I just listen to? Whatever it was, I loved it!!! The production of this album sounds so ahead of its time, possibly even ahead of today's time! It appears that M.I.A. had a clear artistic vision, and it was executed very well. If Björk were a rapper, I'd imagine that her music would sound similar to this (she would probably do it better, since Björk is un-matched). There is so much epic energy in this album!!! Also, I heard that Trent Reznor praised this album, and I love Nine Inch Nails. TL;DR, this SLAPS!!!

I’ve tried for decades to get in to M.I.A, but have never been able to. Something about her delivery just never clicks with me. I know full well she approaches serious topics and social/political commentary that needs to be discussed, but as a music artist she just is not for me. I ended up hitting stop when it just sounded like the same song with slight production tweaks after 30 minutes.

That was a lot of fun

This doesn't have the benefit of having Paper Planes on it, but I actually preferred this over Kala by quite a bit. Some genuinely good tracks on here that worked for me.

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this. It's a really interesting mélange of world music, electronica and dance. I particularly enjoyed the bizarre wordplay, really interesting use of grammar, syntax and vocabulary. It's not my normal cup of tea, and there are good songs and bad... if it was all the former, it would be five stars. (Also worth noting that this is yet another album that is on one or two editions of the 1001 but then was taken off... always interesting to see that.)

Definite talent but not for me. Drum kit have me a headache

I think I liked the other album of MIAs that I got on this list better, but her debut is really solid. Just fun dance music with some hip-hop 4/5

Kind of good

Очень понравился альбом, много треков добавил в избранное

One step above noise.

One of my favorites albums since I was a teenager. It's a shame M.I.A. turned out to be a weirdo.

When Arular came out in 2005, M.I.A. was definitely in the right place at the right time. Electronic music and hip hop were evolving, and she brought a fresh energy by merging global sounds into something unique. With Diplo collaborating, the album was filled with raw, angsty energy and a rugged feel that really stood out back then. But listening to it now, it hasn’t aged as well as I hoped. While it was fresh and forward-thinking for its time, M.I.A.’s style feels a bit abrasive and over-the-top now. It’s still a great example of an album that captured its moment, even if it didn’t end up feeling timeless.

Cure for cerebral palsy 👍

She has a unique vibe. It’s like a cross between like international Londoner, influenced by Indian, Caribbean, Middle East etc and a hooligan lad walk home drunk from the pub. I had fun with this though

Interesting - 3/4 but probably a 3 for me

K.I.A. Reminds me of being sat on a bus where some obnoxious teens are playing their crappy music through their phone.

Every rhyming couplet ends with Ahhh. Seruously though like this artist she has however done better albums.

Nicely different, fresh sounding I liked the mash up of all the different styles even if it did get a bit messy sometimes.

Wow! So refreshingly not a member of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young for once. Electronic Music? Tick. World Music? Tick. Bit of Hip Hop? Tick. Sense of Humour? Tick. Politics? Tick.

Just another ex-1001 album!™ http://1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie.wikidot.com/album-artists-a-z-ex Different and refreshing from most the albums on the 1001 list. I may also have developed a soft spot for M.I.A. since I lived in Sri Lanka for a while during the civil war years.

liked it more than her other one

O.B.N.O.X.I.O.U.S.

I like M.I.A. well enough, but as a full album this was underwhelming. Definitely not her best.

A bunch of 4 songs and 2 songs from a controversial artist. 3/5

Similar to her second album, but without Paper Planes as a hit. The lyrics might be political, but the music that comes with it is just very off putting. M. I. A style is just so much out of my comfort zone. A slightly too far out.

Really very boring. But not as boring as so many albums here, therefore a 2!

This was surprisingly enjoyable

Interesting and fonky and fun

Pretty good, nothing on par with Paper Planes though

Like her other album on the list, it's too percussive and monotonous with some exotic samples. I don't understand why there's more than 1 on the list. I like this one slightly better. Favorite song: Sunshowers

It was just okay for me

Sometimes an album comes along and you just leaves you wondering. To be fair I didn't give it a good listen. Would I go back and listen again, no.

I wasn't sure what the expect because Wikipedia gives the genre as World / Hip Hop / Dancehall / Dance. The music is quirky and quite unlike anything else I've ever heard, with highly political lyrics, but I quite liked the album.

First listen. Meh

It's been a minute since I've listened to some M.I.A., but I've never listened to this album. I've listened to Kala and Maya, and I even got the chance to see her perform at Austin City Limits in 2011. It seems to me like she dropped out of the limelight a bit after Kala, but made a resurgence after her anti-vax takes in the last couple of years, so I'm curious as to how this album will have aged (side note, she endorsed Trump this year. Gag). Well, time to fire this up I suppose. I thought this album was fine. The energy of the music did a great job of matching the social and political commentary of the lyrics, especially when the lyrics were more militant in nature. Over the course of the album though, the music wore a bit thin on me, and felt pretty repetitive. Some of beats could be pretty jarring at times, but they did give the album a unique sound that makes it stand out from a lot of the more polished hip-hop music that was coming out around this time. "Sunshowers" was my favorite song on the album, and I really liked the melody of the chorus. I'm not a huge fan of the lyrical style of British hip-hop, but M.I.A. does a great job of using that style to get her message across. While I wasn't incredibly keen on this album, I'm looking forward to reviewing Kala soon.

If I wanted to listen to an angry Londoner shout over dial-up Internet sounds I'd go and listen to, well, I don't actually know because recording and releasing something like that would be mental. I had the other (because for some reason there are two albums on the list) M.I.A album a while ago, and it got 1 star. This album is worse.

3.3 1x catch up on 12/23 pretty decent

New to me - probably not my favorite by her. But I like her sound and her politics.

Huh, a bit unexpected, but always glad to see something that is not rock, even more so something contemporary-ish! Really whacky record. Listening to this make me feel very uncool and old. All beats are extremely catchy and groovy, and the lyrics are complete jibberish and devoid of any type of coherency or "sense". It just feels completely disconnected and all over the place, but she is just so good at creating memorable fun pieces that rhyme really well and are easy to remember, that now it feels like I know almost all songs even tough only heard the record once. And I think that is where much of here success lies, it's incredibly powerful. Going to sound even older now, but I wonder how much she has influenced how kids talk these days. Listening to her rap feels a bit like hearing teenagers talk. In summary this is definitely not what I usually listen to, but there's just so many hooks here in the lyrics and the beats that it's hard not to dig it. Really fun to listen to as well, not so complicated or pretentious as some music can be. Gotta give it a weak 4 just because of how fresh it feels, even though I probably won't listen to it much more and I didn't find any particular song that I "loved".

M.I.A was really on to something. Really like how much you hear of future acts like "Shygirl" and "CORBAH" in this. Still feels incredibly fresh and playful. Just a bunch of good loops and beats. My favourite was probably the incredibly stupid "U.R.A.Q.T.", just fun lyrics all around. I recommend M.I.A's album Matangi to see the ideas of this album carry on into the 2010s. 4 star!

I wanted to like this, but it does nothing for me. Cutesy beats don’t really do anything for me, they kind of become grating by minute 20. Interesting arcade sounds mixed with a bohemian sound, but again, grows weary fast and the album just becomes a chore to sit through. I don’t hate it, just disappointed.

This album made driving more entertaining and the Galang song brought back some fun dancing memories, but I don't think I would be eager to listen to this album again.

Dance/workout vibes. Have to be in the right mood

Bit angry

Arular is the debut studio album by M.I.A., originally released in 2005. This is very interesting. As another user commented, "there is a lot of staccato in this album". The beats are sparse, glitchy, and in-your-face. Her voice just adds to that feeling. I admire the genres she mixes on here, from pop to electronic to dancehall. The production on here is... interesting. It is ultra bright and was grating to listen to at times. Maybe that was by design, adding to the electro-pop sound. It's clear that this album is influential. I hear a lot of Charli XCX in here, so she most likely influenced a lot of the more modern electro-pop artists. Definitely not my type of music, but I respect it.

I was going to give it 2 stars on the grounds that you can actually listen to it but halfway through I made my mind up. If just for the sheer audacity of being on this list it's not worthy of 2 stars but nobody can in all conscious listen to this all the way through without screaming into the void. It's an album so transparent you can see straight through to the lazy drum machine programming that sits behind every tuneless yelp of this samey, boring, unmusical piece of rubbish. Make it stop.

This album is pretty fun. I like how well all of the Roland low-fi synth pads are used; gives it the whole thing a well-polished demo tape feel. 3.5/5

Great album. I listened to it a lot when it was new. I had a limewire version of it though, so there's actually a few songs here I've never heard! Damn early pirating... 4.49/5

Banging and very 2000s nostalgic

I want my money back!

The production on this album saves it. M.I.A.’s charisma is there, but a lot of the time it comes off as really annoying. The songwriting itself can get really daunting even in the short track lengths and ultimately a lot of them feel directionless. Again tho, the production is really cool and a different performer would do fantastic on here. Nothing nearly as good as Paper Planes I’m afraid

Did not finish. Meh.

2/5. After listening to her second album, it's clear this one is the weaker of the two. Feel like she is trying to find her sound still. The beats are great and the instrumentation is diverse and interesting but the vocals feel like they are not too confident of themselves, despite some of the political lyrics. Some of the songs sound similar too, just biased from the next in her discography. Don't think I'd put this one on often though. Best Song: Galang, Fire Fire, M.I.A.

Arular is intriguing, yet it's exhausting and repetitive

kinda album motivating user 6330bcd3272e8c04f99e622f to blind channel user generated album im fucking going to do it

Real snappy. Every song sounds chaotically the same though

Cool rhythm and commentary, sadly a bit stale, a bit repetitive and/or one-dimensional. If you enjoy it you have a lot of it however.

It's consistently inconsistent. How is this the 2nd album by her on this list. 1 wasn't enough? She has a unique style I'll give her that

It’s fine. Easy to ignore until it’s over. Sometimes interesting.

There was a lot of staccato in this

I wouldn’t buy it. I wouldn’t even steal it on Napster.

Although not as good as Kala in my opinion, most of what I said for that album applies here as well. Solid and catchy album.

Interesting and eclectic blend of styles, and politics, and it's rare to find something that is so mixed up like this. The vocals get a bit grating and one-note at times. So for its uniqueness I guess I see why it is on the list, but I didn’t enjoy it. 2⭐️

Love MIA in general, and this album is definitely solid. URAQT and Galang are my favorites, for sure. It's not nearly as good as Kala. Plus I just learned that she's a Trumper, so it's hard to muster true admiration right at the moment.

Not very compelling. The music is kind of a jumble of sounds and beats without much in the way of a theme. 2/5

I'm still not into electronic music.

Surprised this amateurish debut made the list.

I thought it was creative and raw. It’s a shame she has become a right wing grifter

This is horrible

Unique and definitely attention getting but not my style outside of a few songs. Rating 4 for it being something I'd come back to and for standing out.

Good ideas and breakfree style for MIA but did not connect as good as I know she can.

It’s hard to fathom that M.I.A.'s Arular is closing in on its 20th anniversary. When it dropped in 2005, I was living in London, and the buzz around it was undeniable. You’d hear tracks like “Galang” and “Bucky Done Gun” everywhere—from the most uptight clubs to the scuzziest dive bars. Arular stood out, with its heady blend of hip-hop, dancehall, electro, and world music creating a sound that felt far more alive and unpredictable than anything mainstream at the time. Truth be told, I’ve never been sold on M.I.A.’s lyrics. Even back then, it felt like she was a teenager cosplaying Noam Chomsky, throwing out broad political statements without any real knowledge to back it up. Nearly 20 years on, that impression has only solidified, especially with her recent dabblings in conspiracy theories and newfound religious leanings. At her best, her lyrics skim the surface of complex issues—civil war, terrorism, oppression—but rarely dive deep enough to say anything meaningful. However, unlike many reviewers, I do enjoy her vocal delivery. It’s one of the things that hooked me back then and still stands out now. There’s a swagger and rawness to her voice that matches the experimental production perfectly. Where her lyrics might stumble, her voice hits hard, and the beats—while sparse and jarring at times—still feel ahead of their time. Listening to Arular today is like catching a glimpse of a parallel 2025, where the music is sharp and anarchic, even if the message is occasionally muddled. In the end, Arular endures not because of its political depth but because of its fearless, genre-defying sound. It captured a moment and remains a vital, if flawed, musical rebellion. Did/Do I own this release? On mp3 Does this release belong on the list? Kala feels like a more essential album. I’ll get back to you after I listen to that one again. Would this release make my personal list? Probably not. I do like it, but some of the topics are poorly fleshed out. This is an album that’s fun once in a while. Will I be listening to it again? It’s an album I’ll return to occasionally, but probably not one I’ll reach for often.

я сейчас мужественно пролистаю все песни и попробую найти то, что мне нравится ... я нашла полтора песни, которые смогла дослушать. абсолютно не мое

I quite like a couple tracks from M.I.A.'s second album, Kala, so I was hopeful for this album, but this feels like it is very shallow despite the fact that I know it isn't. It's weird that it's generally considered a hip hop album, because the rapping on this album is kept to a minimum. The album more feels like an electronic dance album with a focus on unique beats and musical styles from all across the world, but at the end of the day pop-y dance music is still just pop-y dance music. The beats are ahead of their time in some fashion, and it seems extremely unique compared to most 2000s works, but I thought very little of most of the music here, and only wish there was more going on, because most of the songs don't change, even from track to track. I completely understand someone liking this, but I'm pretty disappointed. Still cautiously hopeful for the follow up.

Det er vist mest bare Paper Planes der er fed haha. Ej men pladen synes jeg er meget samey, jamaikansk reggae-agtigt rap (dancehall? er det nok). Ikke helt forfærdeligt isoleret, en enkelt eller to af disse på floor nok meget fed, men ikke lige min ting.

Never heard this before. I like it more than I expected to. Inventive, unique and hooky. Great debut. " 'Cause Bingo, now I'm hittin' a 6"

Ho hum, I guess I was expecting more as I really enjoy "Paper Planes" and "Bad Girls" but didn't feel like it was the same groove.

Teetering on the edge of being brash and fun vs. being brash and annoying.

The general policy is to rate the music, not the (current) political views of the artist, but that's more difficult when the subject of the music is politics. However, aside from the artist's recent politics, this is not bad. I don't usually listen to this style, but I can appreciate the breakout abilities and bold presentation here. (Also, many people are more familiar with her "Paper Airplanes", which is not on this album.) She's built a lot of sound off very limited capabilities, and is using that sound to push forward and challenge the world.

Love her experimentation, but not something I would choose to listen to.

You have to be in the right mood for this album…but it has a good beat and the lyrics are interesting. I wouldn’t add it to my list of albums to listen to, but it is not something that I would immediately turn off either. It’s catch, in small doses!

Good for the style of music, but just not really something of interest to me

Didn't see this one coming, Really enjoyed her beats more than I want to admit. The Sanford and Sons clips in URAQT made me hit repeat a couple of times.

Humm 2 or a 3… I don’t like her voice, I’m not a big fan of the beats but I did find they put a bounce or a swagger in my step. Boring, child like flow. Interesting content I guess. Love Paper Planes but I’ll never listen to this album again, I don’t think it deserves a spot on the list. Overall I think there’s more negative up there than neutral.

This was a slightly exhausting experience. That said, some tracks are certified bangers.

Like a politically charged sugar rush, these repetitive beats and rebel soundbites hit hard but fade fast.

Not for me.

Arular - M.I.A. (2005) Eletrofunk Um dos queridinhos da MTV nos anos 2000, que começa bem empolgante, sendo o ponto alto a música "Bucky Done Gun", que tocou durante anos nas paradas de sucesso. Após uma impressão inicial positiva a sonoridade e a forma de cantar da M.I.A. se tornam repetitivas e perdem o impacto inicial criado pela, no momento do lançamento, mistureba musical entre Brasil, Jamaica, Londres. P.s. A M.I.A. se tornou usuária de chapéu de alumínio. Melhores músicas: Bucky Done Gun Piores músicas: N/A 2.5/5

My day is ruined and it isn't even 6am

I really enjoyed this one. Packed with creative electro-forward beats interleaved with exotic elements that simultaneously feel futuristic and as though they should be the soundtrack for a busy old-school open market. While I don't always love her vocals, I think there is far more hit than miss. The only one that I find myself skipping is U.R.A.Q.T. Pull Up the People is a great burbling opener -- the delivery of the chorus is catchy as hell. Bucky Done Gun is a banger with a constantly shifting instrumental. Love the 808 led back beat that is punctuated with tribal sounding drums and interleaved by various staccato gunshot sounds. Early album standout. Sunshowers feels familiar -- reminds me of a random electronic song I enjoy called Alala by Populous. Oh wow, I just placed Hombre as the sample that was used during a jam at a Disco Biscuits concert I went to. They riffed the sample and built one of my favorite interludes of the concert around it. Song is a jam unto itself. 10 Dollar is a late album standout. Propulsive dance-electro beat with a hook from the perspective of a prostitute \"anything you want.\" It's infectious and sort of bleak. Solid 4 / 5.

I'm seven songs in and it seems like she is just talking about herself the entire time. Hombre had me bumping. This was nothing special.

Oh boy back to back British hip-hop does not bode well for me. Yup went exactly how I expected. Very different that Dizzee Rascal but also very similar in ways. Too much random noise and a voice that I could not stand. Low 2 again

I really only know Paper Planes by her. That had its moments and low points. Pretty meh but was interesting at least.

Every song sounded the same.

It was terrible

You know, not my favorite.

9/10…indietronica / alt.hip hop

Comenzamos el mes de mi natalicio con el debut de M.I.A.. La conocí hace unos años a través de un documental y luego caí en la cuenta que ubicaba uno de sus hits posteriores. Una artista zarpada, adelantadísima a toda la movida actual del trap/hip hop/neo soul (en el caso de mi país, imposible no relacionarla con Nathy Peluso y con el resto de las pibas de su camada). Me vuela la cabeza que lo haya producido con una máquina de ritmos re sencilla y que sean ritmos bailables con letras barderas. Me recuerda también a las raperas de los 90s y, en el caso argento, Actitud María Marta, Miss Bolivia o Sara Hebe. Muy bien 10.

Not my favourite sound but I can recognise the ambition and the innovation. Sometimes felt like I was listening to proto-hyperpop. 3

The production is a bit grating and repetitive, the lyrical content seems way way thin (more mentions of politically-charged topics than actual political perspective being shared here), and M.I.A.'s quest to be the most frustrating person really all get in the way here. I liked Kala a lot when it came out, but it wore thin on me, and I especially went sour on M.I.A. after seeing her cruddy cruddy set at Sasquatch '08.

Not as good as the other album on here, kind of has one idea and repeats it the whole time, as opposed to the much more inventive and imaginative sequel. Bleh

This is another album where I totally understand why it’s on here; I just don’t care for it. There were some parts I liked, but it definitely felt longer than it’s actual runtime. M.I.A. is definitely talented, but this isn’t my thing.

Love this!!

Favourite tracks: bingo

Afro-beat yummies. I couldn’t stop my hips. Fun to think that she laid down most of these tracks in her apartment on her Roland 808. That said, I do think Diplo needs some serious nods here for production extravagance. Danceable political messages - a fun magic trick.

I definitely see the appeal of this sound but it's not for me. I think the bold and loud digital beats sound a little grating. I think the vocal style is pretty good but I really would prefer different instrumentals. The Vibe: The soundtrack to a mid 2000s action-comedy chick flick that got like a 10% on rotten tomatoes.

Is this electronic music or hip hop? Either way, it is not good. I guess this is dance music but it's hard to imagine anyone actually dancing to it. I get why a music critic would put this on a list like this, but it's almost unlistenable. Steel drum is a hard instrument to effectively integrate into popular music. It feels like this a forced combination of world music, electronic and hip hop. This manages to be dissonant and repetitive at the same time. Galang is the hit from this album and is definitely the best track. I did not even notice the difference between Galang and M.I.A, when the album ended I was surprised.

excellent

Arular was decent, catchy hooks and some decent vibes with a nice run of songs from Amazon to URAQT but ultimately the lyrics (as much as they can be called lyrics) are ultra repetitive to the point it's annoying, and heavily staccato in style which I don't like much. A solid 3 anyway, it's not bad.

Didn't enjoy this particularly, mega repetitive and she just sounds so smug all the time. There's definitely something there, but it's the same thing every time. 2/5.

Though that be the same shit as her later album, but this sounds really nice

Not sure why MIA is on here twice. Looks like it was removed in later editions. I like her music in theory, but every time I actually try to listen to more than a song or two I'm anxious for it to be over. Her story is wild, though. Very confusing stuff in her adult life compared to her seemingly working-class ethos, like being romantically involved and having a child with a Bronfman, then becoming a born-again? I'm confused. Doesn't change my opinion of the music, but it does make me question her protest lyrics.

I'm here for the beats: grimy, big, and difficult to pin down a country of origin. MIA's rapping flits between Madonna on "American Life" to earnest drunk girl at the party. The latter definitely works for the album, since this is definitely a mid-00s time capsule, when electroclash was more than a memory. "U.R.A.Q.T." is a complete swing and a miss, though, so hard that it took the batter out of their shoes. Favorite tracks: "Amazon", "10 Dollar"

Absolute drivel start to finish. Was painful waiting for it to end. Why dud I promised myself to listen yo every album start yo finish. This is a waste of electrons on a computer somewhere.

Initially interesting, then repetitive, then boring.

pretty passable aggro rap-pop. didn't realize how many k-pop groups try (and fail) to imitate this energy

This was something unique. Rap/Hip-hop mixed with electronica is not that unusual, but her lyrics and the fusion with the music of her origin really does the trick. The tracks are often a bit too long as more often than not the hook lines are repeated nearly endlessly. But other than that, this was fun.

This album is not for me, I found myself not enjoying the album much at all, the lyrics are extremely repetitive, however the music itself can be interesting at times.

It's not bad but, it's not for me.

cool album with an even cooler political background

Imagine making a book about the 1001 most essential albums of all-time and you end up putting two M.I.A. albums in it. Not bad, but come on, this is so lazy

One of her albums was already far fetched for this list, but two???

I guess it's a good album in its genre, but seriously, this list has a lack of knowledges about what happened in the 2000s AND outside the UK. You know, there's a world outside UK. We don't need 2 M.I.A. albums in a list like that.

Very simple

Jeg var rasende overset her i starten, skulle dele albummet i 2 for ikke at blive skør i hovedet. Olie tønderne er fede. Hun bruger meget af det hun har lært af det her album på kala som ikke følelses lige så langsom som den her. Flere numre fik jeg Die Antword vibes, bare uden rave. Eller lidt The Ting Tings måske.

Der er stor kvalitet og nyskabelse i det her album. Det falder bare ikke min smag. Dog syntes jeg (en lille) smule bedre om det end opfølgeren, på trods af at der ikke er et nummer der er i nærheden af Paper Planes. Det mest overraskende for mig er at Justine Frischmann har været inde over albummet. Men måske alligevel ikke så overraskende når man tænker på den retning hendes eks tog fra Blur til Gorillaz og senere African Express.

A cool sound that's repeated through the whole album thus making it boring. She's anti vax and a 5G conspiracy whack job though. So the max number of stars is 1.

Quite enjoyable dancehall-esque stuff

This is aptly named, as anything enjoyable is M.I.A. on that one. 1.5/5

I am not the target audience for this

not setting the world on fire

En saanut viboista kiinni ja soundi oli alussa vielä sopivan erikoinen, mutta loppua kohti loppu mielenkiinto täysin.

Ihan hauskoja biittejä ja täs oli potentiaalia. Mut se the-elementti kuitenkin jäi uupumaan

This is a good dance album. Listening the way I did for this project did do Arular any favors. It's a solid 3.5 star album. But I'll save it for the dance floor

All Terrible

Like this. Nice when the singing comes in in ‘sunshowers’🌞 Love Amazon, good percussion and backing track

has a unique sound going for her. Favorite track: Galang other picks: pull up the people, amazon, 10 dollar(has tamil verses), hombre (tambura intro?)

Such a fresh great sound that is only getting better with time.

I'm 2 for 2 on liking full M.I.A albums. This one was fun. Catchy, bouncy songs that were entertaining, funny, or a mix of both. I really like how the singer speaks and sings, her accent and cadence is cool too. Good beats in the background, I liked Sunshowers, Amazon, Galang, M.I.A as tracks.