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Feb 6, 2014It’s a truly absorbing listen, almost effortless. For a band that have been through so much turmoil, they convey so much beauty.
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Feb 25, 2014Inspirational work, yet again.
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MagnetFeb 21, 2014It's a captivating album, full of gradually shifting textures, meditative chants and brilliant guitar playing. [No. 106, p.59]
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Feb 6, 2014Emmaar [is] possibly the band’s most consistently satisfying album yet.
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Feb 11, 2014Emmaar finds the desert-blues group returning to the crackling electric sound that is their trademark, but here the implicit knowledge of conflict lingers like a fog.
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Feb 10, 2014Remaining true to your identity while also evolving and keeping an audience that’s always a moving target interested in you is a tough gig. On Emmaar, Tinariwen are up to the task.
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Mar 11, 2014While the Tinariwen formula may be familiar, Emmaar sees their sound refined without losing any of the group's rebel edge and defiant spirit.
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Feb 27, 2014Emmaar’s reassuring familiarity in the face of the forces of war and commerce is at once reassuring and a bit concerning. On the one hand, it’s great to see that the group remains incorruptible and in touch with its essence; on the other, a bit of buffing and shining aside, if you know the band’s sound, you already know this record.
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Q MagazineFeb 14, 2014The guitar may intrude a little more but Emmaar is still built around gnarled guitar, harmonised chants, hyperspeed percussion and the sense that this music is as relentless as the Sahara sun. [Mar 2014, p.121]
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Feb 12, 2014Longtime fans can feel relief that this album maintains the band’s high standards, or even surpasses them. For newcomers, this release marks an excellent starting point to jump in and see what all the fuss is about.
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MojoFeb 11, 2014Tinariwen still speak to the world as outsiders, but now they are telling us more about ourselves than we knew before. [Mar 2014, p.92]
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Feb 10, 2014The different textures and timbres at work on Emmaar reveal Tinariwen's evolution; one derived from the need to grow musically, as well as respond to adversity with creativity.
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Feb 10, 2014It's perhaps not as immediate as 2007's Aman Iman, but no less pleasing.
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Feb 7, 2014Emmaar is a typically impressive blend of the emotional and the political from Tinariwen.
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Feb 7, 2014A band that could forever rely on their fascinating back-story and critical adoration alone, Tinariwen strives for much more on Emmaar.
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UncutFeb 6, 2014There's very little quite like it, and it's much wilder than it first seems. [Mar 2014, p.77]
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Feb 12, 2014With Emmaar, the band continues to construct a creative vision that remains true to the music of their native country while finding ways to incorporate more traditional North American blues elements.
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Feb 11, 2014With Tinariwen's members effectively refugees thanks to regional conflicts back home in North Africa, their blues are as deep as ever.
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Mar 12, 2014Addressing affairs back home, where Tuareg rebels fight for an independent state, Emmaar invites meditation not limited to those conversant in Tamashek.