Gutbucket desert blues vamps intertwine with swelling Arabic vocal lines (sung mostly in Tamashek) that zig and zag at will. Haunting modal drones are punctuated by hand-clapped rhythms that lurch one moment, gallop the next, but never go where you expect.

Fans of African music will recognize the influence of Tartit, the late Ali Farka Touré and other Malian artists. But Tinariwen's front line of four lead guitarists who all sing sounds like nothing else, there or here. Together with the band's other members, they create songs that are earthy, exotic and electrifying. The music that results is infused with more true rock 'n' roll spirit – in rock's most essential and primordial forms – than any other album I've heard in quite a while.