Imidiwan: Companions

iTunes Review

Tinariwen has been around for more than three decades, but most Western listeners were first exposed to the Tuareg band through albums such as 2001’s The Radio Tisdas Sessions and 2004’s Amassakoul. The group mixes traditional Berber elements, Arab influences, and rock to create a riveting, blues-infected sound. On “Tenhert (The Doe)” Abdallah Ag Alhousseyni rapidly intones the song’s words as he’s backed by female backup singers. He ends his thrilling, rhythmic lines in a sustained pitch that gracefully hovers over loping guitars, handclaps and drums. By contrast “Enseqi Ehad Didagh (I Lie Down Tonight),” a spare track with low-key percussion, finds Ibrahim Ag Alhabib on mellow lead vocals. Interestingly, the cut brings to mind Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band, another group that bent the blues to its own needs. “Kel Tamashek” with its drony vocals and unusual guitar tones displays a quiet intensity. The closer, “Desert Wind,” an instrumental performed by Ag Ahabib, magically evokes the desert with ambient electric guitar tones.