Tinariwen: Tassili

Label: Anti-

Several albums into a remarkable career that has made them one of the most popular groups in the (sorry, hate this term) world-music scene, Tinariwen, the band of nomadic sub-Saharan former rebels, maintains a singular balance between worlds. Engaging brilliantly with Western musicians (including Nels Cline and Kyp and Tunde from TV on the Radio) and a producer, Tinariwen nevertheless recorded Tassili in its own territory, amid the blank rocks and white sand of the north African desert. Can we hear that open space in these songs or do we just tell ourselves we can once we know their provenance? Something to ponder at night perhaps, but if Tinariwen's music comes with mystery built in, it's also powerfully alluring and filled with a yearning that transcends language. "Walla Illa" begins with delicate yet expert guitar-picking, before a single voice enters and is quickly joined by several others in a sweetly familiar blues, leavening sadness and a recognizable world-weariness with resolve. It's plainly gorgeous. "Tenere Taqqim Tossam" features the TVotR guys, taking a few verses and blending in easily, while "Takkest Tamidaret" keeps it spare: One Tinariwen voice and stray strings singing of that faraway desert sky. Can't you just see it?