TAL NATIONAL Few records this year have made me as happy as the new Kanni (Fat Cat), the first internationally available release from Niger's Tal National. This crafty, hard-hitting album feels like a hybrid of styles assimilated from all around the continent, especially Congolese soukous and Ghanaian highlife—and at times the clipped, spiraling, fast-moving guitar reminds me of the chimurenga sound Thomas Mapfumo pioneered in Zimbabwe. The group formed in 2000, and on the one earlier record I've heard—2008's A-Na Waya—the basic template was already in place. Alas, poor production choices, including some irritating Auto-Tuned vocals, prevented Tal National from reaching the heights they achieve on the new album, cut in Niamey with Chicago engineer Jamie Carter. He got a clean but aggressive sound from the guitar-­driven sextet, and its matrix of frenetic rhythms—trap set, some kind of talking drum, and sparkling, stinging contrapuntal licks—is totally infectious. Just as impressive are the sturdy vocal melodies, delivered in a soulful rasp or in declamatory call-and-response style—they ride the music like rafts rushing down white-water rapids. This is the band's first U.S. tour. Peter Margasak