Everything about this CD is aurally pleasing. She sings in a flawlessly charming voice, draws on her Algerian roots as well as Andalusian flamenco and Brasiian percussion. Flutes and lutes abound mellifluously, it is extremely well recorded and does the difficult job of achieving an exemplary second album. So what is the problem?
Well for me it too often strays into blandness. It rarely excites me for all its perfection. Am I being churlish? I hope not.
For example the opening track has a cello setting the mood before her voice swoops and glides effortlessly over some subtle percussion. It is a pleasing combination, there’s no doubt of that. It’s just that it tends to wash over you after a couple of listens. A friend, listening to her, described it as world muzak. I wouldn’t go that far but in places it is dangerously close to sounding like very superior background listening.
That said I do like Yemma with its splashes of violin and oud to colour the hypnotic melody. The dark tracings of cello, coupled with acoustic guitar make Le Bien et Le Mal memorable too.
But at times I felt that this was an attempt to produce a sort of all-purpose world music album. I’m all for variety but this seems to attempt too much and as a result there isn’t a strong sense of personal identity evident. I was left feeling vaguely dissatisfied but I’m sure others will feel entirely differently and it will sell millions.
Buy Deb, and her other albums, Mesk Elil, and Raoui.
Author: World Music Central News Room
World music news from the editors at World Music Central
