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10.0
93091
10.0 |
The Independent
Their most powerful album since Amassakoul
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9.0
93642
9.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Elwan shares this commonality with the six other previous releases from the band. But heading in a new direction is not the point at all. We need their voices, collectively, now more than ever
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8.2
93334
8.2 |
Pitchfork
Mali’s Tinariwen ensemble mix Western African styles, feverish group workouts, and world-weary lyrics, collaborating with Kurt Vile and Mark Lanegan in the process
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8.0
93373
8.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Whatever the elusive 'it' is, Tinariwen are a group of musicians who both have it and, more importantly, get it in spades
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8.0
93103
8.0 |
State
A great sounding record; dry, rich yet spacious – a velvet cocoon for the ears
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8.0
93095
8.0 |
All Music
A vital and engaging album
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8.0
93011
8.0 |
The Observer
They are still the champions of the genre they created
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8.0
93012
8.0 |
The Music
Their most vital album in years
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8.0
93024
8.0 |
Mojo
If nothing else, this yearning, realpolitik-infused road movie of an album is one to point to the next time somebody pronounces there are no decent protest songs any more. Print edition only
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8.0
93025
8.0 |
Uncut
It's the haunted croak of the band's main singers, Ibrahim and Abdallah, that are the main draw: the sound of heartbroken gangleader, the world-weary soldier, bravado replaced by tenderness
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8.0
93026
8.0 |
Q
You're rarely more than a few minutes from kick-ass riffs and percussive abandon. Print edition only
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8.0
93076
8.0 |
Exclaim
By making the geographically distant feel welcomingly familiar, Tinariwen have made Elwan a can't-miss release for curious audiences from all corners of the globe
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7.5
93100
7.5 |
Spectrum Culture
You don’t have to know a lick of the language to understand the sadness cocooning the sound
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6.0
93013
6.0 |
The FT
A lot of Elwan feels like a missed opportunity
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6.0
93087
6.0 |
The Irish Times
An album which turns the band’s familiar skies and sands into a melancholic and sad-hearted landscape
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6.0
93010
6.0 |
The Arts Desk
The music makes only minor changes to the Desert Blues of previous albums
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6.0
93403
6.0 |
musicOMH
Their last studio record saw them in upbeat, energetic form, and whilst that playfulness is still present at times on Elwan, there is a conscious grounding too this time around
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