Slowly but surely, piece by piece, amidst internet scowls at the New York Times and announcements of infuriatingly unreachable comeback shows
M.I.A. seems to be hellbent on making sure half the population of the globe wraps its ears round as much of the tracklisting to upcoming third LP proper /\/\/\Y/\ (released 13th July) as legally possible
, with the record's second guerrilla dubstep-infused slab Steppin' Up recently emerging via Arulpragasam's
N.E.E.T. Recordings blog. Pairing together hefty powerchord guitars, construction site sounds contorted to drill together autotuned lyrics of bomb blasts, cars and anything fast, the most disconcerting frequencies heard this side of South Africa's vuvuzela and the complete rhyming dictionary to the word "dub", Steppin' Up sees M.I.A. return to her cut and paste roots showcased effervescently on debut outing Arular, albeit with a little higher production values... Jay-Z just hopped on the bandwagon, spitting all over the bridge bits of 80s sheen pop bamboo banga XXXO, whilst Christina Aguilera's latest, Bionic, features Arulpragasam on the blippy, irritatingly, and instantly forgettable Elastic Love in a desperate attempt by Aguilera to remain even a tad relevant having been well and truly booted into touch by Lady Gaga.
/\/\/\Y/\ tracklisting:
1. The Message
2. Steppin' Up (DOWNLOAD:
M.I.A., Steppin' Up).
3. XXXO (prod. by Blaqstarr & Rusko) (DOWNLOAD:
M.I.A., XXXO (feat. Jay-Z))
4. Teqkilla
5. Lovalot
6. Story To Be Told
7. It Takes A Muscle
8. It Iz What It Iz
9. Born Free
10. Meds and Feds
11. Tell Me Why
12. Space (prod. by Rusko)
Bonus tracks on Limited Edition Lenticular Slipcase (?!?!):
13: Internet Connection
14: Illygirl
15: Believer (feat. Blaqstarr)
16: Caps Lock
