CHIMPAN A
M.I.A. Vol.1 TIGERMOTH
Magenta man blends pop smarts with long-form songcraft.
Rob Reed and Steve Balsamo have described M.I.A. Vol 1, their third album as Chimpan A and the first since 2020’s The Empathy Machine, as a response to the “TikTokification” of music. The clue is in its full title: Music Is Art: this is an old-fashioned, listen-in-one-sitting record. It’s a common goal in the prog world, but to pull off that trick, artists need to create material engaging enough to keep the listener rapt and the pair have done more than talk a good game here.