LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO

“Raise Your Spirit Higher”

Heads Up Records          

It’s hard to listen to South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo sing “Lifesavers…yum” and not think, “Yack!”  But what makes this blatant marketing gimmick tolerable is to remember the group’s breathtaking performance on Paul Simon’s 1986 album “Graceland.”

Now, here comes “Raise Your Spirit Higher,” the group’s first recording in seven years, and every time I listen, it reminds me of church.

I’d call the group God’s own vocalists.  Really.  Led by Joseph Shabalala, this 10-member group combines Zulu chanting with American gospel music to make a recording that shimmers with grace.  It celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the end of apartheid by singing about hope faith, loss and even the need for safety belts.  Ladysmith Black Mambazo could sing the Triad Yellow Pages and make it sound gorgeous.  It all indicates how music cuts through language barriers to evoke joy, beauty and pain.  By the way, Ladysmith Black Mambazo will perform at 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday at Durham’s Carolina Theatre.