fRoots, October 2001
Souad Massi comes from Algeria, an area that is already designated as hip by world music trendsetters. If she concentrates on her strengths, she too could be deserving of international recognition. I suppose you could classify this as Algerian folk/rock, integrating ouds, guimbris and local percussion with regular bass, kits and guitars. Some is straight acoustic, slow and mournful (the lugubrious oud-led Bladi is a particular ear-catcher), others more up and urgent like "Amessa", pulsed by a rattle of Arabic castanets and a hint of desert guitar. "Nekreh El Kelb" has some of that Mahgreb crossover Spanish flavour and a bit of gypsy violin. Over it all, a throaty, expressive voice that occasionally reminds me of Natalie Merchant in places. But it's a record of two halves: there's a point in the middle where it falls down somewhat and heads off into tracks that are too obviously mainstream rockist--nothing wrong with that in principle: they're just not very well executed, as is often the case when people play outside what's natural (and anyway, French attempts at straight rock were always fairly naff). It's interesting that they shunted these off past the point where impulse buyers will already have seized it off the listening posts.
--Ian Anderson © fRoots Magazine all rights reserved
CD Description
Debut album by Algerian vocalist who is based in Paris. Thealbum fuses North African styles with western pop and folk,utilising both the acoustic guitar and the oud. Massi composed each of the songs and delivers them in either French or Arabic.