TINARIWEN

Amassakoul

(World Village)

These Tuaregs never get loud.  Their tempos are deliberate, their sonics indigenous; their percussion comprises a single derbouka drum and some handclaps, and their chants eschew showmanship.  Not that they’re above reaching out, or marketing—they consciously costume themselves as desert exotics.  But rarely has such a compelling electric-guitar band offered less rock and roll release.  Even when they’re inventing Sahara rap their goal is contained self-sufficiently—a principled nostalgia for the community that has been wrested from the. A MINUS