Aspan

For their second album, Tel Aviv-based instrumental group Sababa 5 move away from the rather self-conscious pan-global hotchpotch that characterised their 2022 self-titled debut to pursue a sound that combines Middle Eastern-flavoured grooves with some of the exploratory impulses of vintage progressive rock and psychedelia. A little bit of focus goes a long way: the result is a lot more compelling.

Yet, even while they’re finding their own sound, a vibe this retro invites comparisons. Opening track, ‘Wembley’, sounds like mid-70s Yes playing the stadium on a balmy afternoon, with Steve Howe plugging in an electric saz. ‘Tri Li Li’ is a laid-back, synth-drenched vamp in the classic Anadolu-style of 2023-era Barış Manço. The tremendous, organ-driven title-track is a nocturnal jazz-rock jam with more than a hint of The Doors’ ‘Light My Fire’. ‘Alpis’ is a bullish stomp summoning krautrockers Can in their most motorik moments.

Sababa 5 are a tight-knit unit, crafting faultlessly immaculate jams. But the album belongs to keyboardist Eitan Drabkin who displays a Joe Zawinul-esque ability to wring a plethora of juicy sounds from the keys, from wigged-out Moog solos and trippy, dubwise organ to the shushing of synth waves crashing on a far-flung cosmic shoreline.