Tinariwen: Emmaar (Anti-Records) Rating: 8 (out of 10) Due to ongoing political strife in their northern Mali homeland Tuareg desert rockers Tinariwen recorded their latest album, Emmaar, at a custom studio in Joshua Tree, California just north of the Coachella festival site in Indio/Palm Springs.
The band, more than a little familiar with an unsettled lifestyle, has lost none of its considerable power moving their music into exile. The tunes are grounded in Tuareg tradition with electric guitars feeding off ancient desert drone rhythms.
Currently touring in Europe, Tinariwen returns to North America in April and will perform in Seattle at the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall on April 14.
- John Goodman
New CD releases:
Feb. 11 Band of Horses - Acoustic at the Ryman; Tinariwen - Emmaar.
Feb. 18 William Fitzsimmons - Lion.
Feb. 25 Beck - Morning Phase; Neneh Cherry - Blank Project; St. Vincent - St. Vincent; The Notwist - Close to the Glass; Wild Beasts - Present Tense.
March 4 Drive-By Truckers - English Oceans; Martina McBride - Everlasting; Real Estate - Atlas.
March 11 Dean Wareham - Dean Wareham.
