Elwan

On their latest set, Mali’s Tinariwen ensemble mix Western African styles, feverish group workouts, and world-weary lyrics, collaborating with Kurt Vile and Mark Lanegan in the process.

We need Tinariwen's voices now more than ever.

Also: Chuck Prophet, Ron Gallo and Noveller

Decades of cultural displacement, political unrest, and even a kidnapping have somehow failed to dim the spirit of Tinariwen, the long-tenured Saharan desert blues outfit from Northern Mali.

Though Tinariwen's moniker translates to "deserts" in the Tamasheq tongue native to the band's members, there is nothing barren, arid or inh...

(Wedge)

You don’t have to know a lick of the language to understand the sadness cocooning the sound.

Album Reviews: Tinariwen - Elwan

TINARIWENElwan ***Wedge

The Desert Blues masters in reflective mood. Review by Tim Cumming