Gossip

This is veteran Malian singer Khaira Arby's first album in five years, recorded in 2010 and 2012 in various parts of New York state. All of the songs are rooted in tradition, but have been arranged or adapted by Khaira and her band.

Electric guitars are dominant, layered up by Dramane Touré and Oumar Konat é. Most of the songs revolve around intricate riff constructions, cycling around Mahalmadane Abbanassane's drums. This is the core of most of the tracks, but there's a three-song cluster in the middle of the album that features an expanded line-up, with the horn section of the Ethiopian-sounding Debo Band from Boston, as well as Hammond organist Professor Louie.

Khaira's vocals ride high in the mix, but perhaps not as far as they should. She handles her own backing vocals on most of the cuts, building mass alongside the guitarists. The frequent solos are always concise, bathed in a phased distortion, but still somewhat well-behaved. This is a sturdy recording, but the power and excitement of the onstage Khaira Arby hasn’t been particularly well-harnessed in the studio.