Uncovered

One of the most globally spread bands around, in terms of both membership and sonic concocting, Al-Qasar are currently living in Lisbon, but recording around Europe and North Africa. The dominant personality remains Thomas Attar Bellier, and this second album features four cover versions and three original ‘Arabian fuzz’ numbers, decidedly moving towards a more commercialised electro-dance floor zone. Every track features a guest artist, but these are far removed from the debut album’s Jello Biafra and Lee Ranaldo, or even subsequent collaborators The Limiñanas. The opening ‘Kişisel İsa (Personal Jesus) (feat Sibel)’ at least makes that Depeche Mode song sound like a Goldfrapp number, while ‘Desse Barama (Alsarah)’ harks back to Al-Qasar’s older sound: pulsating big-boom dance, albeit with psychedelic guitars cranked up. There are three winning songs here, almost pushing three stars into four: Tunisian oud player Nada Mahmoud’s slow cosmic echoes on ‘Blue Tataouine’; the Malian epic centrepiece of ‘Promises’, with Cheick Tidiane Seck & Mamani Keita (a truckin’ desert-buster, with guitar and keys sounding compellingly freaksome); and Tunisia standing up again with Mariam Hamrouni on ‘Bissaha Tlaqayna’, her voice rising to a magnified state at the climax.