Omara “Bombino” Moctar weaves magic on his electric guitar like the Nigerian coming of Jerry Garcia, his fleet fingers issuing forth searching solos in joyful torrents of notes. On lead single “Akhar Zaman (This Moment),” Bombino sings in Tamasheq—the Tuareg language of his homeland—a lament about the loss of tradition in his country. He pleads for the youth to return to the truth and wisdom of its elders, warning: “Far from your ancestral culture, your personality disappears, along with your spirit.”
The thing is, unless you speak Tamasheq, you’d never know this was a lament at all—so lively is the musical tone. In “The Moment” Bombino affirms a songwriting fundamental: Bitter truths go down much easier with honeyed melodies.
