London-based Sri Lankan Maya Arulpragasam returns with another track from her indefinable debut album Arular. Bucky Done Gun is just as hard to pin down and categorise, which is the very reason it is such a blast of fresh air in these times of generic shortsightedness.
A fanfare blasts out over deep bass and a lo-fi, grimy electro backing with MIA's aggressively energetic vocals hollered over the top. The sample from Theme from Rocky could not be more apt as you experience the bruising punch of her strong, defiant delivery. Elements of ragga, dancehall and electro are all thrown in but the end result manages to transcend the boundaries of them all. It seems MIA has found the perfect musical soulmate in twisted hiphop producer Diplo.
Released over two discs, the first has the manic D'Explicit Remix of album standout Pull Up The People, while disc two contains a strong set of remixes: Brazilian DJ Marlboro smoothes the raw edges off the original while the ег$ Productions Remix steadily hammers away with rave-era synth stabs and military beats. This is refreshingly skewed anti-pop that laughs in the face of narrow-minded pigeon-holing, and for that it must be celebrated.
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