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Cd Review
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Time Out New York, Cd Review >>
A month ago, at the height of the unrest in the Paris suburbs, Algerian singer-songwriter Souad Massi's stateside publicists began reaching out to journalists for interviews. "It would be timely to hear insights from Algeria's leading songstress (based in Paris)," read one e-mail pitch, apparently missing the fine point that Massi is a celebrity expatriate (she emigrated to Paris in 1999) rather than a second- or third-generation French minority trapped in the ghetto. Still, given the highly charged climate at the time, it's interesting that Massi's latest disc, Honeysuckle (Mesk Elil), made French radio even as Paris burned. Some might consider the air of longing on the disc equally ironic. Not only do several of Massi's new ballads spin melancholic narratives about things she's left behind, the album as a whole is much more beholden to the music of her homeland than previous outings, which sounded a bit like Sarah McLachlan transplanted to North Africa. The arrangements are simpler, but strings and subtle electronic blips give the relaxed vibe an edge. Coproducer Jean Lamoot (Salif Keita) forges a unique synthesis of sounds from around Gibraltar; snatches of both flamenco and Portuguese fado bubble up to the surface of songs such as "Malou," and the opener, "Soon," stirs in morna from Cape Verde. And by duetting with Mauritanian singer Daby Touré (on "Manensa Asli," which means "I won't forget my roots") and employing desert blues ("Ilham"), in her own sweet way Massi is showing solidarity with the mix of diasporans in her home away from home.
-K. Leander Williams 12/15/05 >> go there
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