• 
  Alkibar Gignor : La Paix
  
  Malian garage-rock group Alkibar Gignor deliver gloriously rough album.
• 
  Brownout : Oozy
  
  Latin-Funk group Brownout get down with some seriously laid-back swagger.
• 
  Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars: Radio Salone
  
  Sixteen great new tracks from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars.
• 
  Funk Ark : High Noon
  
  Group from DC brings the Afrobeat fire.
• 
  , Amadou et Mariam: Folila
  
  Amadou and Mariam continue their foray into fusing their Malian styles with the sounds of western artists.
• 
  Nneka: Soul Is Heavy
  
  Nigerian-German soulstress channels her inner neo-soul star on her latest release
• 
  Sauti Sol: Sol Filosofia
  
  Kenyan, Afro-fusion outfit Sauti Sol continue their exploration of all things "pop."
• 
  KG Omulo: Ayah Ye!: Moving Train
  
  A synergy of funk, rock, reggae and traditional African sounds from this inventive, young singer/songwriter.
• 
  Various Artists: Chief Boima Presents: Lone Stars - Hipco and Gbema
  
  
• 
  Various Artists: The Kankobela of the Batonga, Vol. 2
  
  Mysterious melodies from a disappearing thumb piano tradition of Southern Africa.
• 
  Kiran Ahluwalia: Aam Zameen: Common Ground
  
  Indo-Canadian Songwriter Combines Folk Poetry with African Rock, Jazz and more
• 
  M.anifest: Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America
  
  
• 
  Sona Jobarteh: FASIYA
  
  West African female kora virtuoso releases an album full of grace, warmth, and passion.
• 
  Sia Tolno: My Life
  
  Kissi singer releases a strong second album full of pop-infused star power over songs of strife and triumph.

All Reviews >>

Angola's most seasoned pop singer, the gruff-voiced, soulful Bonga, has been paying attention. Plainly aware of the recent success that Lusaphone artists Waldamar Bastos and Cesaria Evora have enjoyed using an all-acoustic sound palette, Bonga serves up a tasty set of songs rich with acoustic guitars, flute, marimba, accordion, bass and hand percussion. That's not to say that Bonga has sacrificed any of his trademark originality. Bonga's signature rhythm is the semba, and Angolan cousin of the Brazilian samba. And it's here in force on tunes like "Kimone Amarelo," and "Olhos Mohlados." On "Incaldido," bass and guitar harmonize on a catchy riff that answers Bonga's raspy call. The rhythm is giddy, almost Congolese, and there are other rompers here, despite the acoustic sound. The breathless "Mutokodias" plays like acoustic zouk.

Elsewhere, Bonga turns his ageless voice to more romantic and melancholy moods, as on on "Escapada," or the title track, which recalls the mournful choral refrains of Mozambiquan pop. "Kisangusangu" shifts elegantly back and forth between a gentle waltz and a flute-floated 6/8 refrain. After a career broken by civil war and exile, Bonga is plainly in excellent form. For years, we've tended to think of Bonga as a nostalgia musician recalling the pains and pleasures of the 1970s. So it's a special pleasure to find him seizing the moment and moving ahead with such gusto.
Contributed by Banning Eyre for www.afropop.org