Yemanja: (Independent)

I'm nicely snake-charmed by this Dublin a cappella girl band with their complex harmonies around ethnic musics. Tulamama is a soulful African song of a mother's son on his way to war, and they bravely attack the traditional Syrian Ah Ya Zane. Justine Murphy's compositions owe something to the great all-female band The Raincoats, the impressive trip-hop/minimalist Dive, or StarBridge, a paean to Bosnia-Herzegovina's victims which slides stylistically in and out of Balkan churches. I find Dulaman more studied and suburban, which may say something about my understanding of the other cultures, but to hell with that. These guys are a solid, smart, searching women's choir, and they play City Arts Centre tonight.

Mic Moroney

Tony Allen: Black Voices (Comet Records)

Please peoples, haul thine asses along to the Shrine club tomorrow night in City Arts Centre. It's a live gig from this consummate African trance-groove percussionist, former drummer and musical director for Fela Kuti's band. This 1999 recording is a chilled, minimalist, hyper-produced, swimmy dance mix compared to the older sunnier, open-air exuberance. But the tempo is still tighter than a frog's pyjamas; deep dark funk, stoned dub, Starsky 'n' Hutch-era rhythm guitar, itching-powder sax, Miles Davissy brass; and Allen's rampant percussion ecology and signature up-top snare taps. The vocal tolerance-messages are plain. See this guy live - at whatever level he, however briefly, enters our society.

Mic Moroney