Tuesday, November 8, 2022
The 10 Best New Albums from Around the World (November 2022)
Featuring new releases from Jake Blount, Abel Selaocoe, Liraz and many more
Liraz
Roya Glitterbeat Records
Synth-driven tracks such as ‘Tanha’, a slow, lonely song about Iran and falling boundaries, and the psychedelic ‘Azizam’ with its wah-wah guitars and glittery electronics unfurl and swirl in ways touching and joyous. Jane Cornwell
Abel Selaocoe
Where Is Home (Hae Ke Kae) Warner Classics
What’s remarkable about this album is not just the strength and ferocity of the playing and the power of the material, but the singleness of vision that brings these contrasting ingredients into a thrilling whole. Simon Broughton
Souad Massi
Sequana Backingtrack Productions/Wrasse Records
Most striking of all is a deathless version of ‘Hurt’, written by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails and famously covered by Johnny Cash. Over the insistent beat of a frame drum and some haunting flute from Syria’s Naïssam Jalal, Massi sings the lyrics in Arabic with an emotion that is almost scary.
Lucrecia Dalt
¡Ay! RVNG Intl
Elements of Latin American music are present but never in full form – snatches of bolero, salsa, merengue and mambo can be heard across the album’s ten tracks but always as something far-off, half-remembered and hallucinatory. Olivia Cheves
Pedro Lima
Recordar é Viver: Antologia Vol 1 Bongo Joe Records
Lima died in 2019, so this inspirational collection (the fourth in Bongo Joe’s São Tomé and Príncipe series) gathers together key Lima works, along with a clutch of previously unreleased tracks. Martin Longley
Zisl Slepovitch Ensemble & Sasha Lurje
Cry, My Heart, Cry: Songs from Testimonies in the Fortunoff Video Archive, Vol 2 Fortunoff Video Archive
You might expect this to be pretty heavy listening as these songs are from times of terrible suffering, but they are resilient, satirical and a testament to the power of music in adversity. Simon Broughton
Jake Blount
The New Faith Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
While fire and damnation fuel the apocalyptic narrative of Blount’s Afro-futurist parables, mellifluous grooves and hooky refrains make songs like ‘The Downward Road’, ‘Didn’t It Rain’ and ‘Give Up the World’ as danceable as they are memorable. Doug DeLoach
Ablaye Cissoko & Cyrille Brotto
Instant Ma Case
The accordion adds a melancholy, faintly Celtic drone to Cissoko’s elegant arpeggios on tracks such as ‘Troisième Z’ and ‘Signola’, while lending a more Gallic flavour to ‘Kolda’ and the waltz-like title-track. Cissoko has an attractive, gentle voice, too, which contributes to making Instant a gem from start to finish. Nigel Williamson
Nasim Khushnawaz
Songs from the Pearl of Khorasan Worlds Within Worlds
In this recording, Khushnawaz has created not only a flawlessly executed work of artistry, but also a monument to human perseverance in the face of tragedy and oppression. Charlie Cawood
Jackie Oates
Gracious Wings Needle Pin Records
Since her eponymous debut, released in 2006, through the stellar likes of Hyperboreans, Saturnine and Lullabies, Jackie Oates has proved to be among English folk’s finest female singers – a field full of great and original talents. Sometimes, I think she’s the finest of all. Tim Cumming
