Group Inerane - Guitars From Agadez (Music of Niger) (2007)

Group Inerane
Guitars from Agadez (Music of Niger) (2007)

Guitars From Agadez earned me like 5,000 Hipster points one day during a discussion I was having with a friend about what we were listening to lately. The fact that I was able to say that the last album I got was a tribal guitar album from Niger thoroughly pummeled the living shit out of his talk of his recent Liars downloads. It was a moment that hipsters dream of (and probably plan for), and I'm sure he assumed that I had been anticipating that conversation for days, which may or may not have been accurate.

This album has a lot going for it besides being a good hipster conversation piece that will undoubtedly display how cultured and diverse your musical taste is. The cover depicts a Tuareg man holding a guitar, standing on his tribal grounds lit with the unmistakable glow of campfire. The recording quality is such that it feels like you're right there with him and his tribe, celebrating whatever they're celebrating, admiring his bluesy riffs, clapping along as you watch the women dance around the fire; maybe feeling emboldened enough to get up and dance yourself. It's a very intimate recording style; others may just call it shitty, and it is, but a studio wouldn't have done it justice.

But the honeymoon period with Guitars From Agadez is brief, and the flaws are hard to brush off. First of all is its repetitiveness. Don't be fooled by the fact that this album is split into ten individually named tracks, because they are all essentially the same song. It's a pretty good song and all, but not that good. Not good enough for it not to get a little boring towards the end. Or to not notice that the riff in one track is all but identical to the riff like three tracks ago (or five tracks ago). Or to not get a little annoyed by the constant shrill, fluctuating tribal yell that one woman seems to like doing RIGHT INTO THE GODDAMN MICROPHONE just to make sure you hear it, even though it's probably loud enough on its own for me to hear it all the way from the Sahara to where I sit now in Arizona.

So when it's all done, Guitars From Agadez comes off as sort of a nice novelty for anyone's music collection, but probably not one that I'll find myself coming back to with any sort of regularity.


Score: 6/10


"Ano Nagarus"


"Tenere Etran"

Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood (2007)

Jonny Greenwood - There Will Be Blood (2007)

Many soundtracks, be it for a movie or a game, fail to garner the same emotion when the listener isn't familiar with the visual element. Therefore, opinions of the music can vary based on ones fondness of the media that the music accompanied. Of course this isn't always the case. I quite enjoyed Curtis Mayfield's Superfly soundtrack though I've never seen the movie in it's entirety (judging by the few parts I have seen here or there, I'm not sure I ever want to see it in it's entirety). But that's Curtis effing Mayfield we're talking about there. Other scores by lesser artists don't always bode as well. Having already seen the modern masterpiece that is There Will Be Blood, it's nearly impossible for me to separate the music from the drama and the gorgeous cinematography that these songs highlighted, so I can only speak hypothetically when I say that I probably would've enjoyed this soundtrack without having seen the movie.

"Prospectors Arrive" is the standout moment by far. I loved the song in the movie and I love it even more coming out of my stereo. The string arrangements here create the most achingly beautiful piece of music I've heard since, well, "Reckoner". Though I hate to bring Radiohead into the mix, I can't help but wonder how much more awesome this song would've been with Thom Yorke's vocals. But as it is, it's still one of the best songs of the year so far. "Henry Plainview" is an intense piece of music, the cello and violins melting together to create a feeling of darkness and uneasiness that accurately defines Daniel Day-Lewis' Oscar-winning character. The last half of the album is pleasing even if no other songs are as commanding as "Prospectors Arrive". The only problem being that they are almost too short to have an immediate impact. At a scant 33 minutes long, the album can come to an end before you know it. That's not to say that the songs are lacking, but I can miss them entirely if I so much as let my mind wander.

Still, there's some pretty powerful music to be found here. An enjoyable listen, I'm sure, even for those who have never seen the film.


Score: 7.5/10


"Prospectors Arrive"


"There Will Be Blood"