Rolling Stone’s Joe Levy says both M.I.A.’s Kala and Rilo Kiley’s Under the Blacklight require repeated listenings, but they’re worth the effort. Is Rilo Kiley’s Jenny Lewis the best songwriter in the biz right now? Levy explores her band’s sex-and-breakup-packed major label debut, then breaks down the globe-trotting and political LP from M.I.A., who brings out harsher beats and plays with the tropes of gangsta rap on her sophomore full-length. Read the full review of the Rilo Kiley album here, and get the full text of the M.I.A. review here.

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