• 
  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
  
  
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  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 >>

This collaboration by two of Brazil's most adventurous and appealing pop musicians has vitality and class to spare. The release celebrates twenty-five years of tropicalismo, the liberating blend of roots culture, rock-and-roll, politics, and poetry that landed both of these artists in exile under Brazil's 1970's-era military regime. The off-center oddity and spiritual power of the best tropicalismo infuse these finely-crafted tracks. "Haiti" roils with the slow, seductive undertow that marks Veloso's best work, while "Baiao Atemporal" exemplifies Gil's lighter-than-air blend of samba and reggae. Overall, neither artist dominates. Rather they resonate with playful ease whether on the retro-'60s "Wait Until Tomorrow," with its nod to Hendrix, the minimalist rock of "As Coisas," or the gentle acoustic samba of "Cinema Novo." Full translations of the lyrics find both songwriters boldly eliding between personal, political, and religious themes, commenting on music, art, and history all in one poetic continuum. Sweet and smooth but never lacking teeth, tropicalismo lives!
Contributed by Banning Eyre
Originally published in: Boston Phoenix