Reviews Search | Songlines

Reviews

Review of Buenos Hermanos

Buenos Hermanos

Ibrahim Ferrer

World Circuit

Rating: ★★★★★

There was the Buena Vista Social Club, of course. And then there was Ibrahim Ferrer, its unofficial frontman. Born at...

Reviewed by Jane Cornwell in issue: May/2020

Review of Astrakan Project

Astrakan Project

Simone Alves & Yann Gourvil

Karga Records

Rating: ★★★★

This album has nothing, as far as one can tell, to do with the town on the Caspian Sea or...

Reviewed by Peter Culshaw in issue: July/2013

Review of El Curruchá

El Curruchá

Eliana Cuevas feat Aquiles Báez

Alma Records

Rating: ★★★★

Venezuelan-Canadian singer-songwriter Eliana Cuevas has a stirring, see-through voice, perfect for communicating the nostalgia and warmth she feels for her...

Reviewed by Chris Moss in issue: July/2021

Review of Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng

Tribute to Ndiouga Dieng

Orchestra Baobab

Top of the World

World Circuit

Rating: ★★★★★

Despite the title, the first album from the legendary Senegalese dance band in a decade is not a tribute album...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: May/2017

Review of The Birth and Death of Stars

The Birth and Death of Stars

MZAZA

Mzaza

Rating: ★★★★

MZAZA are a six-piece band with an Australian-European line-up and an aesthetic that recalls the free-spirited romanticism of Lhasa de...

Reviewed by Jane Cornwell in issue: November/2020

Review of Maame

Maame

Cheikh Lô

Top of the World

World Circuit Records

Rating: ★★★★

When this reviewer rather recklessly gave up a well-paid staff job as a political correspondent at The Times some 30...

Reviewed by Nigel Williamson in issue: December/2025

Review of Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango

Silent Tears: The Last Yiddish Tango

Payadora Tango Ensemble

Six Degrees

Rating: ★★★★

It's incredible how the tango has conquered the world – from its origins in Buenos Aires to Paris, Helsinki, Istanbul...

Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: May/2023

Review of Awalin

Awalin

Steve Shehan & Nabil Othmani

Naive

Rating: ★★

Steve Shehan is a man who has been there and done that, earning his crust playing percussion with Paul Simon,...

Reviewed by Andy Morgan in issue: Apr/May/2011

Review of Mỹ Lai

Mỹ Lai

Kronos Quartet, Vân-Ánh Vanessa Võ, Rinde Eckert

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Rating: ★★

The Apocalypse Now image on the album cover and the title Mỹ Lai, the name of a terrible massacre of...

Reviewed by Simon Broughton in issue: August/September/2022

Review of Light as a Feather

Light as a Feather

Azymuth

Far Out Recordings

Rating: ★★★

You’ll find slapped bass, synthesizers and even (whisper it) synth-drums on this reissue. But you’ll also find memorable compositions, soaring...

Reviewed by Mark Sampson in issue: June/2013

Subscribe from only £7.50

Start your journey and discover the very best music from around the world.

Subscribe

View the Current
Issue

Take a peek inside the latest issue of Songlines magazine.

Find out more