Etran Finatawa, Desert Crossroads

Every cut on Desert Crossroads, the second album by Niger's desert blues sextet Etran Finatawa, shines by itself and contributes to the album's quietly powerful weave. But its assured highlight happens right in the middle. From the close-miked fingers sliding across guitar strings to its big round vocal harmonies, “Asistan” is small, modest and perfect; it quietly stops the world for three and a half minutes, and the gently heaving rhythm moves with such little effort you'll find yourself breathing in sync with it. Strong and cohesive, ultra-professional and instantly comfortable, with maturity to command instant respect and tunes that sway like holly in the breeze, Desert Crossroads, like 2006's commanding debut, Introducing Etran Finatawa, is music to grow old with.

Etran Finatawa brings to the table strengths that few bands of any idiom carry in such obvious abundance. Group leader Ghalitane Khamidoune plays snakelike guitar leads and sings in a lightly cragged voice; both are personable and both carry a clear and immediate authority. All the other band members (who play acoustic and often traditional instruments and percussion) also sing; their call-and-response vocal lines and dense, keening harmonies are rich, robust and utterly hypnotic, as are their hard-loping rhythms — think one-TWO, one-TWO, with the “one” dragging a bit. The group's members are Tuareg and Wodaabe, two nomadic groups from Niger's dense ethnic stew of eleven total (they sing in Wodaabe and chant in Tamashek); the music has a heavy Eastern tinge, though it's clearly West African in feel, and Desert Crossroads'producer, Paul Borg, and sound engineer, Sandor Jozsa, bring it forth with uncluttered, vibrant presence.