Oumniya

Souad Massi's career has followed an uneven path since her 2001 debut album, Raoui, earned her a nomination for Best Newcomer at the inaugural Radio 3 Awards for World Music. Although she subsequently won an award for her third album, Mesk Elil (2005), there's a nagging feeling that she hasn't quite lived up to her early promise. The lightweight Ô Houria (2010) was a low point, and although El Mutakallimun (2015) was a significant improvement, its settings of Arabic poetry seemed like an interesting side project rather than a major statement. All that can now be forgotten, for I'm going to stick my neck out and hail Oumniya as her finest set since her debut 18 years ago.

Sung in Arabic and French, the ten songs fuse North African styles and chanson into a beguiling sound, full of yearning melodies sung in a cool and compelling voice. From the mellifluous Arabic pop of ‘Yadra’ to the gorgeous Gallic balladry of ‘Pays Natal’, Massi's voice has surely never sounded more exquisite, while her songwriting tackles such heavyweight subjects as forced marriage (‘Je Veux Apprendre’) and political corruption in her homeland (‘Fi Bali’).