Blues charts

Review: The resurgence of interest in vinyl has brought with it plenty of spotlight for niche acts like Tinariwen. The Mali-based desert blues specialists are now frequently found on the playlist of eclectic Das and NTS radio hosts, and so they should be. This new album is actually an old one - Kel Tinariwen is an early cassette tape recorded in the 90s that has not been released before. It hones in on the political issues of the time and is a raw sound compared to how Tinariwen went on to sound, but still has all the hypnotic guitar lines and call-and-response vocals that make it distinctly them. Add in raw drum machine rhythms and keyboard melodies and you have an alluring and Arab-tinged take on synth-pop that really gets you where it hurts.

Review: Nigerian singer, songwriter, and guitar legend, Mdou Moctar should need no introduction if you keep an ear to the ground of sub-Saharan African music. Then again, the vague region covers a vast area - land in all four hemispheres and around 15% of the Earth's walkable surface. So you could be forgiven for missing out on an individual artist if, for example, you weren't already looking for them specifically. Or relied on Western culture media for tips on what to hear next. That said, problematically tunnel-visioned as the North Atlantic-hegemony of commentators can be, Moctar has been something of a darling to UK, European and US musos for a while now. On Tears of Injustice he presents a convincing case for their continued adoration. A master of Tuareg, a style of music also known as desert blues, it's an intoxicating sound that easily transports and invokes, even if the predominantly Tamasheq language he sings in remains a mystery - arguably another factor in the powerful mythology surrounding his legacy.

Review: Mdou Moctar's reimagining of his work presents a powerful counterpoint to the blistering original. Recorded in the wake of a political crisis that left the band stranded in the US, this acoustic version strips back the aggression, replacing it with raw grief. The band, recording in Brooklyn's Bunker Studio, brings a new, meditative quality to the music, with the songs remaining heavy but haunting in their unamplified form. The standout 'Imouhar' takes shape through two rapid-fire passes, seamlessly merged into one hypnotic take. Where the original album burned with anger, this version captures the sadness and sorrow of a nation caught in perpetual turmoil.