8. Tal National “Kaani” (FatCat) The repeating patterns of funk stay unpredictable in the frenetic grooves of Tal National, a band from Niger. The music keeps leaping ahead with one surprise after another: guitar parts that align and diverge and reconfigure, drumming that pounces on offbeats. The patterns are crisp, complex and tireless, but Tal National is no funk machine: It’s alive.