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Mdou Moctar: Funeral for Justice review – desert bluesman on incendiary form
The Nigerien guitarist and his virtuoso band set polemical fury to thrilling musicianship on this no-holds-barred release
At a time when so many UK and US artists are shruggingly apolitical, the palpable anger blazing throughout Nigerien psych-rock guitarist Mdou Moctar ’s second album on Matador, and seventh overall, feels like a powerful corrective. His virtuoso guitar work – all fast-evolving riffs and thrillingly fluid soloing – is the focal point throughout, lifting the likes of Tchinta and Sousoume Tamacheq to a higher plane. His US-Nigerien band are just as important, however, building on the propulsive Tuareg desert blues, or assouf, popularised internationally by Tinariwen two decades ago, and creating an unstoppable momentum behind him.
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