Music

M.I.A. goes missing in new album

M.I.A.
“Matangi”
★★½

After her now-notorious middle-finger salute to middle America at 2012’s Super Bowl, M.I.A. is continuing her bolt away from the mainstream with her fourth album. Most of “Matangi” whizzes by in a blur of beats, samples and the singer’s atonal sloganeering. It’s exciting to a point, but marveling at the production for the entire hour duration is tough because this is an album that is not generous with hooks. Only the lead single “Bad Girls” and the two soulful collaborations with the Weekend, “Exodus” and “Sexodus,” offer anything to hold onto in the sea of mutated noise. M.I.A. is nothing if not creative, but the windows into her hectic mind are getting smaller all the time. Don’t expect to see her make a guest appearance with Bruno Mars at MetLife Stadium next year.

EMINEM
“The Marshall Mathers LP 2”
★★½

On his eighth album, the smouldering fire in Eminem’s belly has turned into a raging inferno. The 41-year-old seethes his way through this comeback collection and it pushes him to some impressive places. The terrifying opener “Bad Guy” (essentially a companion piece to the early hit “Stan”) plays out like a condensed, but still-gripping revenge movie, and on “So Far,” the Detroit rapper uses that fury to create some of his funniest lines to date. But sometimes, the anger inside Eminem gets ugly. It’s hard not to wince when he spits out his contempt for women (“the only women I love are my daughters” he remarks on “A - - hole”) and his vile homophobia surfaces far too frequently. As much as you find yourself admiring Eminem, there are also many reasons to pity him, too.

Downloads of the Week

BRITNEY SPEARS
“Perfume”
Half a star

Women beware! Britney is marking her “territory” by smearing perfume over her man to ward off rivals in this dead-eyed ballad (the second teaser from “Britney Jean,” due Dec. 3). Aside from making her sound unhinged, how is it acceptable to refer to a human being — male or female — as “territory”? Sexism and psychosis, all wrapped up in four minutes of awful, anemic music. Oh, Britney, what have they done to you?

AVRIL LAVIGNE Feat. Marilyn Manson
“Bad Girl”
Half a star

Despite being newly wedded to Chad Kroeger, much of Lavigne’s new album is not about martial bliss but is weirdly more concerned with youthful rebellion. This track is a pitiful example; a limp attempt at sexually provocative rock, featuring Marilyn Manson growling like a withered dog desperately trying to avoid being put down. Horrendous.

JAMES BLUNT
“Face the Sun”

Hard as it is to admit, there are occasions on Blunt’s new album “Moon Landing” where his songwriting gets within touching distance of respectability. This opener has the kind of slow burn dynamic that Coldplay often uses but the Brit’s whimpering voice overpowers everything and still feels like a rusty nail in the ear.

CELINE DION
“Overjoyed”
Half a star

It’s  one thing for Celine Dion to be god-awful in her own right, but on this track from her new album “Loved Me Back To Life,” she drags Stevie Wonder down to her level of sappiness. The two sing impeccably but otherwise, this aimless, orchestral ballad sounds like the lost theme music to a shelved Disney film.

DAVID BOWIE
“Like a Rocket Man”
★½

Bowie’s recent comeback album “The Next Day” startled almost everyone with its quality, but the four unreleased tracks included on the new expanded edition aren’t quite in the same league. The pick of them is “Like a Rocket Man” which sounds like a Beatles melody being given a new-wave makeover. It’s another intriguing insight into Bowie’s brain, but not much more.

CUT COPY
“We Are Explorers”
★★

The Australian group sounds like they’ve time-traveled back to the clubs of late-’80s Ibiza to record their new album “Free Your Mind.” For all the Balearic-beat euphoria of “We Are Explorers,” the edge is taken off somewhat by the laconic vocals of Dan Whitford. Does he want to dance, or is he more interested in having a little doze? It’s hard to tell.