Alsarah & The Nubatones - Manara

East African retro pop scores a thrilling showcase here on Alsarah & The Nubatones' second album. The young Sudanese singer and her Brooklyn-based troupe are a riot of melody and beats, and Manara (in Arabic: light and radiance) shakes and throbs as its fourteen tracks traverse the demands of tradition and the possibilities of new forms.

Alsarah fled Sudan following the 1989 coup and then Yemen in 1994 as civil war broke out, before settling in the US. A speaker and activist away from the stage, much of the appeal of her musical discourse lies in how she fuses legacy elements with Western influences (jazz, dance, pure pop.) It makes for a breathtaking, uplifting mix. From the tempo-switching, sultry soul of Albahr to Eroos Elneel (where Brandon Terzic's oud playing will floor you), Manara is electrifying throughout. Short interlude pieces allow time to take stock before the Nubatones pull you back in to their groove. The thrill of uncovering something so old and so new; the delight in realising that language is no barrier to art and expression so inclusive, so universal. 

Listen to: Albahr, Eroos Elneel