The Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria are a bleak reminder of the plight of those displaced from what they have called “occupied western Sahara” since the Moroccan invasion in 1975. Aziza Brahim was born in the camps before moving on to Cuba and Spain, and her 2013 album Soutak, a deserved bestseller in Europe, matched powerful songs of Sahrawi defiance with laments for the refugees. She returns to the same issues here, but sounds unexpectedly laid-back. The opening Buscando la Paz may declare that “the hope for peace is fading”, but it’s a drifting, pleasantly languid song that sets the tone for much of the album. The best tracks are at the end, with the bluesy Mani, featuring the Malian guitar hero Samba Touré, followed by Los Muros, a meditation on the wall built around her homeland. Let’s hope she shows less restraint at Womad in the summer.
