Music in Exile

3 de 5 El álbum debut de la banda maliense Songhoy Blues coproducido por Nick Zinner, es una mezcla increíble de desert blues, melodías tradicionales de Tombuctú y rock visceral. Nació como un acto de resistencia cultural tras huir de yihadistas que prohibieron la música en el norte de Mali; los ritmos africanos y los cantos en dialecto Songhoy se entrelazan con guitarras eléctricas ágiles y potentes, que también evocan al blues estadounidense (John Lee Hooker). A destacar: Track 1 - Soubour Track 5 - Nick Track 7 - Wayei Track 8 - Petit Metier Track 10 - Desert Melodie

niet helemaal convinced

Good to have a bit of desert blues in the list.

More African Jazz. Liked it a bit more than the recent Toure album they’re not doubt influenced by.

3.5 stars. Definitely will revisit this one. My new found passion for Rammstein opens up the way for this. Meaning that I'm more tolerant of stuff not in English. No idea what they're singing about, but it's catchy!

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this. Its loaded with some killer riffs and grooves. 3.5

Some really fun grooves and guitar in this. Pleasantly surprised.

Parts of this I didn't like but there was more that I did like. It was more the groove than the melody that I found appealing.

Really great album, feels like a vibe all the way through. These are the kind of albums that I appreciate on the list because I don’t think I would have been exposed to it otherwise.

Where are these guys from... TIMBUKTU!!? *soyjacks and cums*

Interesting

really good. “soubour” is a gorgeous album opener. first half is the strongest, tho i liked “jolie” towards the end.

Cool album, cool looking band too. Very groovy. Soubour and Petit Metier were my favorites. 6.4/10

great instrumentals but the vocals were a little lacking, might be the fault of the audio quality though

Música de negros, para negros, que se ha vuelto increíblemente comercial y gracias a eso, tenemos maravillas como esta, a pesar que la mayor parte del tiempo me sentía confundido de escuchar lo que estaba escuchando, se siente blues en cada nota, no es algo hecho al azar, gran disco.

I loved the story behind this - the way that music forces its way through the most dire situations and can bring people back to countries that have been stolen from them is one of the most inspiring and enduring lessons you can learn. I also just, y'know, liked listening to this. Because I could only pick up the odd bit of lyricism, it became a little repetitive, but that's on me and my poor language skills.

Liked this better than I expected, but got a little repetitive by the end. Good vibe, though.

Really cool album, Malian rock and roll! Didn’t understand a single word in the whole album but it had really cools vibes!

5/10

DNF

3.5/5

OK, fair play, never let it be said, I thoroughly enjoyed this...

Yeah, pretty funky and fun!

You can hear the rain outside my window and the desert blues inside. Being betwixt and between is not just for this scene but for this band of exiles as well. I appreciate the incorporation of blues music into their context and think it's generally successful on the record. The political dimension of the record might be lost without some research, but the songs match what you'd expect by reading their Wikipedia entry or knowing about the civil conflict of the 2010s in Mali. A greater connection to the themes of resilience, unity, and hope would only reinforce how I feel in this review — important music, pretty solid, but not something I'm going to reach for frequently.

6.5/10

This was a very well done album. The songwriting was great, the musicianship was great, everything about it screamed great. Is this something I would come back, to probably not. But I respect it a lot.

Fun album

Really nice bluesy African guitar music.

I enjoyed listening to this but there it was just missing those moments that make it really stand out.

Totally out of my comfort zone but I liked the experience of listening to it!

5/10

Highlights: Soubour, Sekou Oumarou, Nick, Wayei I sure didn't expect Malian alt rock on this list. Reading about their story I've got the notion that they are a bit of an industry plant. They had a crazy amount of backing from industry veterans. I do like the music though, but I do have to say that it has a heavy western alt sound which is, given the earlier context, obviously not a coincidence. It's sad that this is probably on this list mostly because of that backing. Also, it's a shame I couldn't find a translation of most of the lyrics because I am interested in what they have to say since their background story is quite interesting. Without knowing that, I'm left with a bunch of same-ish sounding imitations of alt rock with their national elements.

Enjoyed this a lot, loads of fun. Maybe just gets a little bit same-y though

This is another example of why I'm glad that I'm going through this project a new band that I had not heard before. Pretty good album, not a 5 star but still pretty good.

Interesante, no me esperaba que tenga una carga de blues rock tan grande, me sorprendió en varios momentos, a pesar de no entender nada de lo que dicen las letras ya la música me convenció de que está bueno.

Way outside my wheelhouse, but I really enjoyed listening to this. Wouldn't necessarily return to it, but appreciate it for what it is. 3/5.

A lot of people want this list to expose them to seldom heard and/or impactful albums, and this definitely fits the bill. It's not a particularly impressive album musically speaking and starts to get samey real fast, but it does have some cool stuff in it. Pretty standard but well done outlaw blues rock riffs are on almost every song. A few dissonant and mysterious chord progressions break up the monotony. The main appeal of this music is probably the vocals, in particular these chants that pop up often. They add a gravity to a genre that admittedly has lost its edge over the past century or so of its life. An interesting listen.

The music was enjoyable and I think I got about as much out of the album as I could.

3/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/songhoy-blues/music-in-exile/ Some nice grooves, but didn’t grab my attention too much. Hurray for diversity in the list, though!

mr worldwide

Cool story behind the album Not my style but giving it 3 for production and creativity

This was cool

Aunque no hubiera ninguna canción que me gustara en particular, me gustó la experiencia en conjunto. También me gustó investigar sobre la banda y sus orígenes, aprendí mucho.

Well It was interesting for sure :D

I ended up liking this album A LOT more than I thought when I first listened and realized it's not in English. Beats/vibes were immaculate.

okay, vor allem die Geschichte. Aber ist das ein Klassiker?

Musics catchy but not understanding the lyrics takes away from it

Best Track - "Soubour"

Sjarmerende og kult til tider. Repeterende og intetsigende ellers.

Likte det! Soubour og Petit Metier lagt til i lista.

Har hørt nok på de gamle mesterne innen dessert blues, til å kunne fastslå at denne plata er repeterende og flat.

Åpenbart bra, men også litt for mye av det samme. Språkbarrieren blir for stor.

Favorite Song: Nick

No es mi estilo de musica, por lo tanto lo califico con un 3, porque no puedo decir que me guste o no me gusta.

Nice

Chill

Totally listenable

Me encantóooo

Really liked this. I've listened to more African music this past year than I have my whole life. I will definitely add this in my rotation.

First album to come up from Africa. Delightful surprise

Didn't really care for this album

It was hard to engage fully in the music, not knowing the language they were singing in, but the music as a whole has a lot of feel and passion throughout. My main fault with this album was the tonal shift in the second half... There was a clear shift in the songs, from more upbeat and experimental to sorrowful, and it made the second half of the album fall slightly flat for me. Favourites: Soubour Irganda Al Tchere Bele

I liked this one. It has a cool vibe and the music itself is pretty good. 7.5/10 Top song Al hassidi terei

Lovely.

This is awesome. Not something I'd listen to normally, but so glad I got to hear it Can't understand a word they're saying and although I wish I could that is part of the beauty, the music and their voices carry the album and this was a very enjoyable listen

Pretty good African record with some takes on rock. I liked the rock songs the most but stuff like Desert Melodie was also pretty good

I enjoyed this.

Nice listening to it in the background, very cool story about the group

Going in with an open heart ♥️ Vibed with it but won’t come back to it on my own

Good. Different

Yeah some cool grooves

No sé qué carajos dijeron en todo el álbum, pero un aplauso para el guitarrista que lo dio todo, denle ya un Grammy, por favor.

Very interesting discovery

Definitely not my usual taste but I still enjoyed it

Some good, groovy, rockin' tunes on here. It got a bit same-y by the end of the album, but there's no denying the talent on display here.

Right of the bat, the rhythm and the singing, ugh so fine. The latter half of the album didn't hit so much than the first half, but it was a great listen and put me on a good mood. The story behind the band is also interesting although tragic.

Such a cool listen. I was more acquainted with other Malian artists such as Ali Farka Touré but this is a record that encapsulates well that sound as appears to be an easy entry point to that sort of music. 8/10 [KEEP]

before listening: "world music" :( on hitting play: "oh damn, ok"

Not terrible

Will never listen again but I quite enjoyed

Great. I liked it. A bit of Carlos Santana in there.

Good album.

Probably a 4 or so without the language barrier. Grooves, sounds great. Cool backstory. Just got a little samey for me 2/3rds of the way through. Love the last track.

The music on this album sounded great, do not speak the language but from reading their sentiments are hopeful and worth a listen.

Erikoista. Todella erikoista. Viidakkofibat. Ei varmaan mene jatkokuunteluun, mutta ihan kivoista bluussahteluista pari tähteä, ja erikoisuudesta ylimääräinen Viidakon Tähtönen.

Much better after a couple of duds. What’s not to like about Malians covering the Clash?!

A nice listen, with a bluesy rock sound with hints of African music laced throughout. Even more extraordinary that this record exists given what its members had gone through to make it! It probably washed over me after a while though. It all had a good sound, but faded into the background as songs became a bit similar.

What an incredible back-story this album has! The music on it isn’t quite as remarkable, but it’s still pretty decent. It’s essentially American-style blues-rock with a Malian twist, in a similar mould to Tinariwen and Ali Farka Touré, who I’m very slightly more familiar with. My inability to understand the lyrics does mean I’m unfortunately unable to appreciate all aspects of the music; no fault of the band, of course, but it does factor into my personal rating. There is a good level of energy throughout, and enough variety to keep my interest to the end. Enough for 3 stars.

A lot of the emotion does get lost in translation, but there are some good jams.

when I will go to Mali I will mention that I know this group

This one’s cool because the instrumentals are unashamedly Western, just with non-English vocals. They’re definitely bluesy, and each song is actually distinct from one another. That’s something American blues rock bands should take note of. Their story is really interesting, but it’s hard to find trustworthy lyric translations for their songs. I think the feelings of the music carry through, but I wish I had a little more regarding the lyrics. Again, good background listen and they’d probably kick ass live, but not something I’d jump for again. Favorite track: Petit Metier

Quite enjoyable and very different!

I feel like i need more context but some of these songs really fucked

Like how hypnotic and repetitive (in a good way) this is but wish it had a less polished production and would just generally get even wilder and into more psychedelic territories. Either way, this is, again, the type of albums I wish this list had more of.

Holy shit, this is a cool album. The guitar is insane. I didn't expect more traditional African style vocals to work so well with rock music. This is a true gem that I would have never listened to if not for the generator.

Pretty good. Would I ever listen again? Probably not. Did I enjoy it? Also probably not. I would absolutely recommend this to someone who wants to listen to music made by people from Tumbuktu, though.

Uhmm I don't know Stand-outs - Irganda - Petit Metier

This was not what I was expecting, I don't know what I was but not this, and it was pretty good!

Incredible backstory to this band that shows in the music they made on this album. Soubour and Jolie in particular. 3.5-4/5

Et malisk band med en interessant bakgrunnshistorie. De synger på sitt lokale språk, med spreke blues rock-rytmer i bakgrunnen. En real overraskelse, for dette likte jeg godt. Kan dog kritiseres for å være rimelig “one-note”. Top 3: Al Hassidi Terei, Sekou Oumarou, Soubour

That was ok

I prefer Ali Farka Touré, but it's still good Songhai, just maybe more forgettable.

I really enjoyed the songhai/afro-rock side of this album, but I thought the blues side was really underwhelming. Cool album overall, tho.

I remember this one coming out (unlike most of this list!) - it's an important album for introducing non-Western styles to more recent generations of Western listeners. A catchy blend, named "desert blues" 3 - deserves to be on this list

I think this is a fine album, but nothing stands out to me in particular. Maybe I'm not a blues person.

These guys were great and I enjoyed what was going on but I just can’t see myself listening to much of this in my free time, and I do like understanding the lyrics of the songs I listen to, so the language barrier was a bit of a restraint on how much I could absorb from this album.

I guess the music was fine but it was more of a holiday that was good whilst it lasted and not a destination to revisit.

This was coo. Didn't blow me away, but this is the kind of stuff that I'm here for.

Fell apart at the end but was decent enough musically for the first few songs to hold on to a 3

Desertic

Solid album, maybe would be better if I could understand the lyrics but they sound pretty repetitive so maybe I’m not missing much. Interesting mix of styles and adds a variety to list which it very much needs

Not my style, but talented for sure!

Actually was great musically. I have no idea what the lyrics are and felt they were too constant rather than rhythmic with the music. I wouldn't listen again but it was interesting

Wouldve been super cool if I could understand it.

A good album with great playing. Good singing that will get stuck in your head. It’s not the best thing I heard but I’m glad I heard it

Lots to like here, the fantastic musicianship, the call and response vocals, the fluidity of the music. You get a real sense of place, of songs from a deep cultural well. Played well, played with soul

Sjovt og anderledes. Hvis man skal høre noget andet end man plejer.

i'm passingly familiar with music from Mali, so expected the ripping guitar work, which is great! like desert-blues breakout Tinariwen, this is just a little bit too shiny to really scratch the itch for me, but that doesn't diminish how talented the players are. doubt i'll be back to the album but man, these guys must absolutely smoke live

Súper interesante la fusión entre música tradicional africana, rock, blues. El álbum tiene unas joyitas que voy a pasar a integrar en mis playlist. Super buen descubrimiento . Hubo algunas canciones que si no me encantaron

Me temo que cometí el error de leer que son una banda de Malí expulsados de su tierra y hacen blues desértico y luego de eso entendí. No sé qué tan sano sea entender el contexto porque me pongo re soft Y los quiero valorar por su trabajo. Bueno igual es música Africana y el beat me gustó, no me cambió la vida pero me gustó. Un tre

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this one. A couple of the songs were bangers, but the rest weren't my cup of tea. Overall pretty strong.

I liked this Album It's got dirty parts that sound like the origins of bayou southern rock/blues mixed with Fela Kuti. I liked it, but nothing to hold on to past it just being interesting. 3/5

repetitive but not bad

Pretty good

The songs were fine but kinda droned on without really changing in any way

I bet if I spoke this language it would go even harder.low 3

Pretty cool! A couple songs were kinda basic I guess but it all sounded good

Totally enjoyable but repetitive

Solid album

Glad I heard this!

Interestin enough eh

No es mi estilo pero pues no es malo, los ritmos y los riffs son rescatables. Valoro mucho el origen de la banda y el contexto social y politico del cual viene.

A very unique sound. Africa takes back the blues, hell yeah.

que RANDOM

a pleasant surprise though nothing spectacular

A very well crafted album, even from a blues perspective. I have to admit that I'm frequently very impressed by the chops of West African musicians and their ability to take genres readily known by me and meld them into the sounds of their native countries, it makes for a listening experience simultaneously fresh and yet still comfortable. On the end of the unfamiliar, I also find myself frequently enjoying the licks and riffs on this album- they're often angular and acrobatic in the manner that Midwest Emo guitarists are while still retaining the gritty and garage-y feel of blues musicians- tracks like "Irganda", "Ai Tchere Bele", and "Jolie" stand out as examples here, not to mention the complex time signatures utilized in the project. It feels like the album also covers a wide range of moods, some tracks far more upbeat and dance-able, others a bit more downtempo and contemplative. I simply wish I could understand the lyrics, I feel like that would elevate my experience a bit further, especially given the context of the band forming do to coming together in political exile.

I had no idea who these guys are so I was a little surprised to hear a bluesy world band. Desert Blues is what their genre is referred to. It was an easy listen, enjoyable but nothing game changing but something different and it was fun. 3 stars

Perfectly acceptable, but nothing really grabbed me.

Tbh listened to it in the background, but it seemed good

sommige trackjes zijn wel gaaf wil eig 3,5 geven

African Bluesrock Album, that is the best when it embraces african influences. Also some Standard Blues Songs on it. Fav: Al hassidi terei

14/02/2026 1. soubour - reallly nice guitar... very bluesy. bass is great as well. 2. irganda - bass is really nice again. *3. al hassidi terei - liking the drums in this one... love the guitar at about 1:30. groovy. 4. sekou oumarou - alright. not much to say lol. enjoying it, but none of the songs have that oomf to push it into something i really like. 5. nick - really liking the guitar at the start. guitar solo is great! 6. al tchere bele - really loving the guitar at the start. love the rhythm. *7. wayei - sounds really sweet. love the backing vocals. really lovely :) *8. petit metier - more acoustic.... don't know what he's saying, but it sounds more emotional? really liking the vocals in this one. just got to the beat drop.... folksier... *9. jolie - liking the second half of this more, from track 7 onwards :) love the backing vocals again. 10. desert melodie - interesting rhythm in this one. love it. 11. mali - really sweet/sentimental. assuming it's a love letter to where they're from? great acoustic guitar. wasn't mad on this at the start, wasn't bad to listen to, but didn't grab me, maybe because i don't understand the lyrics? but reallly loved the songs from track seven onwards. more acoustic and emotional, but still feel like i'm missing something without understanding the lyrics. maybe will listen again when i don't have a bad cold and a banging headache to see if it helps me to focus on the emotion :)

After the first 2 tracks I was on Discogs looking to buy the album, but at the albums close it felt a bit flat. Sounds like they put their best up front as the other albums are similar starts. Interesting listen. 1. Soubour 2. Irganda 3. Nick

1 or 2 bangers, overall enjoyable

Africa makes it interesting and exotic.

Desert blues with a modern twist. Surprised by this one - you can’t help but bob your head.

really good sound, didn’t understand a word but i enjoyed.

Short, sweet and very different. Favourite Track(s): Irganda Least Favourite Track(s): Nick

Nothing for it nor nothing against it. Its a neat little mix of African music and blues. Leans a bit more into their roots. I enjoyed it well enough. Not really my bad but I was decently happy throughout. Neat concept to see but maybe not all the engaging for me personally.

Lovely.

3.5*/5 01.30.2026

Good playing, excellent groove and bounce to it, but not being able to latch onto the lyrics is a shame. With some artists, their vocals can just be a texture but it sounds like the lyrics are important to them on this.

very different to what i’ve listened before lyrically but loved the vibes

Rien de transcendant, mais au final cet album est plutôt agréable à écouter !

Three stars for a new artist to check out but kinda boring.

Good enough. ★★★

achei divertido e muito diferente

Groovy!

Thoroughly pleasant music from Mali. I enjoyed the guitar playing in particular along with the call and response singing. Blues traditionally ain’t my bag but this was an easy album to enjoy. Rhythmically, it transcends “the blues” and there’s more melody in here than you can shake a stick at. A great example of why this project exists. I’m not sure I’ll revisit this particular album many times again but it deserves its place here. Interesting story behind band too, I’m glad they’re documenting their challenging experiences in this way. Music is politics. Music is protest, A good album indeed.

Great tunes

Good reminded me of Santana

It was really nice to listen to it, I liked the language and the funky sound .

Has a nice mix of blues with African rhythms

They may have the Blues, but it made me pretty Jolie.

Well this is a little different. Very western rock n roll but not western it seems

I’ll admit that I didn’t think that the blues had much, if any life left in it. (Hardly the most robust survey, granted, but my repeated doses of RTR’s “Spoonful of Blues” failed to conjure even the mildest interest in Shazaming.) Songhoy Blues – the boys from Mali, living in exile, keeping home alive through their music – are very much alive, though. And in their capable hands it feels like so is the blues. A 200w Marshall stack is the ideal defibrillator; the boys from Mali can certainly play. Ably assisted/produced by Nick Zinner (maybe just coincidence, but it’s quite touching to see a track listed on this record called “Nick”) the whole thing sounds so completely, irrepressibly alive. It’s an electric shade of blue that rings with an unmistakable fervour and passion.

Pretty good album

Honestly not sure what to expect here. Sounds pretty awesome so far. Great blues riffs. Can't understand the lyrics but it's pretty cool! This was a nice album. But 3 stars.

Great music, but hard for me to jive with when the songs aren’t in english

Good beats. Put it on for dinner

This was really interesting. The first few tracks were really catchy and I really liked the edgy, riffy vibe they had, but then toward the end, the verve kinda died out and I wasn't as into it. The tracks where they're just grooving on some hard-hitting surf-rock kinda stuff were great, but then they transformed more into a spartan, tribal sound near the end. Overall it was better than I might've expected for the genre and given the language barrier. Three stars.

Very groovy, some parts of the language I didnt understand but the music was all very catchy and easy to dance and vibe to

Started slow, but got better.

Interesting and I liked it. Great guitars. Super unexpected. A genre I didn’t know existed.

The blues and rock in this album is good, the instruments are catchy and play bluesy riffs, the voice tho idk not just my thing, wish i could understand it too

It was neat. The story behind it is slightly more interesting than the music. Still...enjoyable.

I liked tb

Some interesting sounds. I don’t understand the lyrics but worth a listen.

Musically this was great, and I am sure based on the wiki that this tells a great story, however partly due to the language barrier it wasn't for me. 3⭐️

I liked this - nothing stood out to me but nothing was unpleasant to listen to either. A fun album to listen to on a walk.

It was ok. Didn't stand it but now I have listened to music from Mali

Nothing too notable. Very average.

Really enjoyed this much more than I thought I would. A fun experimental sound.

I really enjoyed this record! I loved the instrumentation and how energetic the songs were. Reminded me of a band called Mdou Moctar, who I believe have a similar backstory. Anyway, really good music. I dug this.

Really powerful story and cool sound.

Ok, but not brilliant

funky, fun, not super my thing but pretty good. probably 7/10 but round down

Interesting songs. Not too bad but not super engaging.

I liked and enjoyed listening to this, but it is really disadvantaged not being in English. I will give it three stars as it is.

A pleasant surprise for some enjoyable African rock. Can't understand the lyrics but the guitar overcompensates. 6/10 (3/5)

🔥

i didn’t understand a word on this album, but most of the songs had a great groove to them.

Liked the music, but obviously would’ve enjoyed it more if I could understand the lyrics. Love the backstory of the band! 3.5/5

Not sure how to score this one. It’s fine, but I don’t vibe with it. I wanted to like it, but the rhythm isn’t for me. Al Hasidic Terri starts like something off Zepp IV then turns into the same groove has all the other tracks. The more Western sounding Nick and Soubour were the standout tracks. The influence of the blues is evident on this, and the rhythm hints at the influence blues from Africa had on the very early Delta blues. It’s all a bit meta.

First listen

Började bra, men sen gick det in för mycket i samma trista World-gung som vanligt

Good background story and chill music but because of the language barrier I’ll give it 3 stars

Muziek waar ik sporadisch naar luister. Instrumentaal heel fijn. Taaltechnisch een flinke barrière. Erg repetitief met een droneachtige feel bij de zanglijnen en riffs. Wel prima, zal ik vaker opzetten. 6.0

Only heard two songs, not really my thing

Definitely an album I would not have been exposed to otherwise lol

Interesting to hear global blues

This album is pretty cool. It takes the familiarities of blues and applies them in an African context. This doesn’t really do anything new, but I didn’t think it really has to. It’s a fun time. Favorites were Soubour, Al Hassidi Terei, and Nick.

This one was cool, loved the music and if not for the language barrier, would have scored higher for me! These are some cool dudes making some nice bluesy music. Pleasantly surprised!

Light 3,5

A fun blues album. Enjoyed the guitar. High 3 low 4

Blues music with an African accent

I am impressed at how fresh this sounds, a familiar genre (blues) given a fresh coat of paint. Interesting writing throughout and a consistently good mood.

pretty okay.

Im not gonna lie, I didn’t finish the whole album. It was good, just not my style!

nice vibes

Good vibes but only listened to half

Liked this a lot. Got a bit same-y at the end, which I feel happens for me when I don't speak the language. That's a quibble though, this is enjoyable throughout. Had never heard of them. Worth reading their backstory.

Heard first phew songs they were great

Cool!

I would have never listened to this if not for this list. It is not something I enjoy african blues, but I appreciate how musically talented all of these individuals are, especially the guitarist 2.5 rounded to 3

3.07/5 Top Songs: Should I Stay or Should I Go?, Kashmir, Soul Makossa

This is a 3.5 I hate I can’t do half stars.

Great blues rock album. Not a genre I go to, but I enjoyed listening to this, it had a lot of great energy. It kind of reminded me of how the Black Keys would sound if I actually liked them. History of the band is pretty interesting as well. 3.25/5

This was really fun and enjoyable to listen to. I feel like I would've enjoyed this much more if I understood the lyrics. Still, I liked this band's sound.

Love. Is the family name Touré as common in West Africa as Johnson in Rock Ridge? Watch the 2015 doc They Will Have To Kill Us First

Cool afro blues

Liked this quite a bit. Wasn’t too familiar with African rock so this was cool. 3 stars

Cool.

The opening track was quite promising, I was hoping the rest of the album would follow suit, and in some ways it did. I totally see why Damon Albarn collabed with the group. But I just can’t see myself coming back to this album.

I may have heard something from this group before but not positive. Interesting background for the band and I was just looking at Mali on Google Maps, which is funny.

Not sure what I was expecting but this is pretty good. Some nice guitar work.

Entertaining, upbeat, emotional — but that’s as far as it goes.

An actual album created in exile. An album of music preservation. These gentlemen were run out of their homeland by jihadists. That fact adds a definite level of urgency to this project. This music has a fresh uplifting feel. It's not exuberant, though. It's sober. It's the blues. The songs don't follow the normal western "verse, verse, chorus..." structure. Rather, each song finds a nice groove and sits there for nearly the entire song. This album is pretty much a collection of really nice contemplative groove pieces. Since it's not recorded in English, I can't comment on any of the lyrical content. Nonetheless, it's an enjoyable listen.

Poor mans Amado and Mariam

This was a nice and pleasing listen, I played it thru twice. None of the tracks in particular stood out to me, but I did enjoy the percussion on “Irganda.” This is right on the line, 3.5 for me.

I like this! I haven't listened to enough desert blues to be able to tell you if this is a really good album or not, but I can tell that the production is high quality. But I really don't have much else to say about it? It's good and vibey, a fun version of blues. Favorite Song(s): Sekou Oumarou

Something very different quite enjoyable. Probably wouldn’t listen to it again though

It was okay enough, a bit of a different and refreshing perspective.

Отличный альбом. Возьму на заметку. Настоящий африканский блюз, необычно. Альбому не хватает хитовости, поэтому тройка, но на самом деле можно и четверку было б ставить

Cool sound

Enjoyed the Latin elements in songs but mostly found it to be background music

Very enjoyable listen though I doubt I'll return to it. Appreciate the driving guitars, complex rhythms, and overall warm and boppy vibe. 3.3/5

I don't think I'll be listening to this album again. I'm not a desert blues kinda girl. But this challenge is to listen to new things so I'm glad I took time to experience it.

Odd, not bad

Not typically my kind of thing, but this was fine, some interesting songs

Favorite track(s): Soubour, Irganda, Al Hassidi Terei

This was an engaging listen - probably the best of any "world music" album so far on this project. Not sure something I would listen to regularly but enjoyable. 3/5

This is cool

6/10

What a unique sound.

Decent listen, but not my thing

Music I'm unfamiliar with, but really enjoyable: great sound, great rhythm.

i think i am very simply not a blues guy. favorite song is probably Ai Tchere Bele (slaps), Mali is also lovely and sad. good shit

i dont think modern blues are for me ? sorry world

Rating: 6/10 An album that may be on this essential list for its cultural significance rather than being a ‘top 1000 albums ever’ kinda thing. These Afro-blues rock songs are definitely not bad but the genre isn’t really my thing and this probably isn’t something I’m going to return to ever

banger story but music only okay

50/50.

interessante

I’m glad I read the Wikipedia first, wouldn’t have liked it that much without it. Last track was my favorite

New sound for me. Really liked it.

Fun

Enjoyable. Nice vibes but did turn into background music after a while. Bet these guys are mint live.

Solid 3 - 3.5

full of tracks that are fun and unique. not something i would choose to listen to all the time but it's always enjoyable when i do listen to this type of music. the meaning and themes behind the album is amazing too. 'sekou oumarou' will forever be remembered as the song i was listening to when i managed to secure last minute hayley williams tickets after two days of incessantly refreshing ticketmaster

Low-key vibes? 3,75

really enjoyed the music of it

Love the guitar tone! Solid blues. The story of the album made me want to like it before I even got started

It was good. Interesting music. Don’t know if I’d listen to it all the time.

A lot of great grooves and tones. Very fun.

Less blusier that I've expected. I don't like world music, but this was a nice listen. Not sure I will return to it often though

not bad

Really cool album. Great guitar work, good vocals, pretty good songwriting. The history behind the music is amazing. The band is a literal group of Malian exiles. Favorite songs: Mali, Soubour, Nick.

Can't understand the singing in their native Songhai but musically alone it is great

Really great jams and instrumentation. Especially the guitar heavy tracks

1. Soubour - 7 Really good guitar play on this track. Beat on this track is also fantastic. It's just a super fun listen. 2. Irganda - 6 The vocals on this and the guitar sounds nice but the beat just makes the track sound like it's a little too fast paced and rushed. 3. Al Hassidi Terei - 6 The quicker parts are very good while the slower parts are repetitive in the lyrics. Brilliant guitar on the track as well. 4. Sekou Oumarou - 4 There's not a lot to this track. Vocally it's very good but instrumentally it's a little bit stale. 5. Nick - 9 Brilliant track. The guitars sound so good and I love how the signing goes from lead to the group in unison and back to the lead absolutely flawlessly. Superb. 6. Ai Tchere Bele - 5 The lyrics sound a little overpowered by the guitar on this track. The sound is still good but it's just hard to get into the rhythm of the track. 7. Wayei (feat. Kaira Arby) - 5 It's a bit repetitive at times. Bit of a pass over track. Sounds good, but just goes on for a little bit to long. 8. Petit Metier - 6 Decent slower song that builds nicely into a decent sound. Lyrically it falls off a bit but it's not all too bad. An okay track. 9. Jolie - 6 Another slow burner that builds well. It's a decent track. The sound at the end is brilliant and made the track worth the wait in the built up to the end. 10. Desert Melodie - 5 I understand the significance of a track like this but I do think there are significantly better tracks on the album. Overall not bad but not as enjoyable a sound as what is on the front of the album. 11. Mali - 6 Good sound to end the album. The vocal exploration of range on this track is the highlight. Average Rating: 5.91 Adjusted to 5-Point Scale: 2.95 Rounded Up: 3 Stars

Like the music, but I don't understand the words

I enjoyed this album, but it definitely is indicative of US/UK critics uplifting overseas artists that have ties to existing US/UK acts. This album was pretty good, but I was hoping for something with a bit more edge to it. Those are my tastes though, I'm sure others will be spinning this for years.

Every once in a while some foreign music gets some recognition in the West. And I don’t mean music from Japan or Korea, I mean from somewhere that most people probably wouldn’t have heard of. Usually it has to have some sort of story behind it, so Music in Exile fits the bill completely. The opening track, Soubour, was recorded as part of a compilation album led by the music missionaries of the Africa Express, and whilst the other ten tracks can match its blues brilliance, none can surpass its statement. These guys were forced to move from the north of Mali when Jihadists banned music. In Bamako they concocted this forty minute demonstration of blues rock of the kind that is often seen coming out of North and West Africa. By that metric, there’s nothing much new in here. But by the metric of cool, there’s a whole lot to appreciate, because if these guys are anything, they’re fucking cool.

Amusant !

This one was super cool, I don't really have much to say outside of it being a good vibe and something I probably wouldn't come back to but enjoyed listening to

Forgot everything about this one since I listened to it, must have been mid

Super

Very interesting record. I cannot really give this a fair review since the cultural difference and differences in language make it hard to fully grasp what this record is about. Yet it’s so cool to hear these blues tracks with all these inspirations and inputs that are far beyond my knowledge. You can hear how this is different from your regular American blues and I love that’s it’s so easy so hear that difference. Loved the guitar play and the vocals were great, especially all those half notes mixed in there. Not something I would really come back to, yet still glad I got to experience this and make it a part of my musical knowledge and feeling!

It was a good listen. It's the kind of thing that made me want to do this album a day . I would probably never have heard it otherwise. While I did dig it, it's not one of those things I'd probably seek out to listen again. Though if I were on the streets in Mali and heard this band playing from a venue nearby, I'd definitely check it out. 3.5

Vibrant, funky album! Great to have on in the background while doing chores

Really cool stuff. Super great background music i loved the grooves

Music rocks, just awesome guitar playing and it grooves so hard. Hard to get me properly into an album when I don’t understand the lyrics but this rocked. 3.5

These guys have a lot of talent. Cool light rock / blues vibe from these artists from Africa.

Pretty rocking! Didn’t really hit me emotionally because of the language barrier. But these guys are good!

4/10 - Not my style, but not bad. Being called “desert blues” I can see how it would be best fit to listen to on a walk-through west Africa. The band being from Mali and singing in Songhai seems fitting, although it’s not my cup of tea, it was quite a pleasant an unique listen.

I was torn a bit by this album. I enjoyed some of the songs, and the guitar was excellent in places, but ultimately it pretty much sounded like a North African guitar band. And, to be overly reductive, there is a pretty common North African guitar band sound, and this wasn't a particularly transcendent version of that. So, yeah, it was fine.

I like this style of music and have listened to some Ali Farka Toure records and Mdou Moctar. It was cool to hear a different take on desert blues, but no tracks really grabbed me and I’m not super sure I will revisit this.

Cool and worth a listen but probably won't come back to it

Great album and vocals.

No idea what this was, but way more enjoyable than any expectations. I could listen to it again if need to

Not a bad listen and it’s got a groove, just nothing I really clung onto. It’s different from what I usually listen to so I’m glad I got exposed to it, but I don’t have much else to say about it.

I didn't understand the lyrics but the music was great

Fine

Pretty good but nothing stood out. Would listen again but not over a lot of other things

Pretty chill. I liked the weird time signatures.

Quite enjoyable though does get a bit repetitive

It's fine. But Mdou Moctar and Tinarawen are much better

Such musicianship, clarity, and rhythmic joy

A good mix of African and American music. I probably won't go back to this again, but I'm glad I listened to it.

Not my jam