SANDTRACKS

"From the easily overlooked Western Sahara (south of Morocco), Tiris are a group of once-nomadic musicians whose striking desert blues comes from their refugee status and the continued annexation of their land by their neighbours to the north. In its natural habitat, their music could be compared to Tinariwen without the walls of buzzing guitars, its loping gait and insistent call-and-response vocals reminiscent of the Tuaregs' successful formula. But here they are augmented by sympathetic musicians, but not always completely to their benefit. The cello, flamenco guitar and flutes work; the keyboards often don't. If they ditch the frills, Tiris's future looks assured." (David Hutcheon, www.timesonline.co.uk).