M.I.A. inhabits a unique spot in the world of pop music.

Blending modern electronic sounds with world music and heavy sampling, she creates a blend of catchy pop tunes alongside political awareness. It is evident in her hit single that propelled her to fame, “Paper Planes” from 2008, and it’s evident in her fifth, and possibly final, album “AIM.”

Throughout “AIM,” M.I.A. intertwines themes of world-impacting social issues such as the refugee crisis and U.S. border control with rather typical and atypical pop lyrics regarding love or birds, sometimes both at the same time, such as in both versions of “Bird Song.”

On the opening track “Borders,” M.I.A. introduces a call-and-response style hook, questioning “what’s up with that” in regards to a variety of topics, such as police shootings, freedom and power. It is a simplistic hook with even simpler lyrics, which describes many of the tracks on “AIM.”

This album is constantly trying to find the balance between being both direct in its political messages and entertaining as a dance record. Songs that completely disregard any sense of obvious seriousness shine.

In this case, it is the Skrillex co-produced “A.M.P (All My People).” Not only is it a great wake up call from the prior lacking songs, but it is followed by “Ali R U OK?” and “Visa,” songs where M.I.A. strikes the perfect balance that much of the rest of the album is missing.

Production-wise, M.I.A. is not reaching any new territory, but that is not necessary for her. She has always found the right producers to work with on every album that makes her brand of wonky pop music always sound slightly ahead of the curve and as a result, timeless.

However, there are moments where the songs sound underproduced, such as the stiff, stuttering “Jump It.” Here, M.I.A. gives a much more deadpan delivery than usual, paired up with a constant looping of vocal stutters over a muffled kick drum. It follows the equally underproduced Blaqstarr remix of “Bird Song,” which is saved by the Diplo remix on the deluxe edition of the album.

While “AIM” definitely had a target in sight with what it wanted to achieve, its uneven lyrical content throughout, combined with some of the lackluster productions, causes M.I.A. to miss some of her shots.