Features Albums Of 2007: #8 M.I.A. - Kala

is great. While the demise of Smash Hits reminded us of how fun pop stars used to be (Morrissey posing with cats instead of causing arguments, Bananarama still living in a council flat following Number One singles) and paved the way for Lily Allen’s mouthiness, any post-80s musicians look black and white in comparison to M.I.A.’s technicolor. She’s got it all.

‘Kala’ - named after the Hounslow-born star’s mother - is no less political than predecessor ‘Arular’, but combines perfect pop moments (‘Jimmy’) with tracks making use of guns as percussion (‘Paper Planes’), all the while featuring the production skills of not only on-off beau Diplo, but also hip-hop king Timbaland, Switch and Maya herself.

It’s the one album which has managed to include many styles, genres and influences without being pigeonholed as a ‘genre-bashing’ record (we hope). Hell, it has a song titled ‘Bird Flu’! Beat that.

Watch the video for ‘Bird Flu’: