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CRITIC REVIEWS
90
Inspired by Black Flag and vintage Van Halen, it's a liberating blast of West African grooves, blinding guitar and soul-steeped vocals, cut with distorted whorls of psychedelia.
90
Afrique Victime is a decidedly Tuareg expression, furthering the distinction that Mdou Moctar holds as one of the most exciting, innovative and provocative artists to emerge from the area.
90
In so many ways, the album represents the full realization not just of Moctar’s individual artistry, but of what’s possible when influences collide in unexpected ways.
90
Overall, Moctar’s creations are perfectly pitched in drawing from Tuareg culture and reaching beyond the traditional into new territory.
90
An exhilarating band set that mixes electric and acoustic instrumentation, it’s at once fiercely modern and as ancient as the Niger river.
90
Remaining as focused as ever on the issues blighting his homeland, Afrique Victime elevates and reshapes one of the continent’s most exciting genres.
85
At long last capturing on wax the full range of his talent, Mdou Moctar crafts the first great guitar album of the ‘20s with this urgent, incandescent roar of desert rock.
84
The Tuareg guitarist and his bandmates deliver the fullest picture of his gifts yet. Recorded piecemeal during tour breaks, the album captures the group’s easy chemistry and explosive energy.
81
It’s music for mending the soul and opening the eyes of skeptics to what music – what really good music – can do for us. No matter what walks of life we come from, there’s legitimate emotion attached to Mdou Moctar’s music, and it should shake any living, breathing being right to their core.
80
There’s no real sense of worry or anxiety in the love songs, and Moctar’s calls for unity are set to a loose soundtrack of unpredictable guitar. This is how free rock & roll should sound.
80
The Nigerien guitarist and band sizzle on a deeply satisfying album that pays unusual homage to his early career.
80
Niger desert rock giants’ first for Matador hits suitably transcendent form.
80
The new album remains true to a style that was pioneered by Tinariwen over 40 years ago, although the sound is a little more sophisticated than on Llana.
80
Dynamic, but well-balanced, this collection is perhaps the most conclusive example of Moctar's multidimensional talents to date.
80
As it becomes safe to go out again, seeing these songs live should be as early a priority as is reasonable. Until then, as we tiptoe into the restrictions-easing summer, Afrique Victime should absolutely be the backyard BBQ blaster for any discriminating listener.
80
Mdou Moctar’s energy for revolution is full force experience, as exhilarating as it is inspiring, and it is made more powerful by his sincere love and understanding of the Tuareg tradition.
80
Sprinkled with unrelenting spiked electric guitar solos, thumping percussion, gorgeous harmonies and field recordings, it’s impossible to resist the magic created by this accomplished band. These kaleidoscopic compositions, both tender and tenacious in tone, are inspiring and rejuvenating.
70
There’s a spectacular spontaneity to the studio piece—electric in every sense of the word.
70
Here's a talent who, through sheer will, has managed to condense the sound of his culture, meld it to western rock and showcase it to the entire world. We can't wait to catch these melodies live.
I'm mad that I didn't get as much from this album that I would have liked to, the cover art for this is so lovely. Sonically Afrique Victime feels like an amorphous blob of blues riffs and oddly placed 80s drum machines that while not unpleasant to listen to wasn't really all that memorable or have many distinct moments across its runtime.
Es de agradecer que exista tanta diversidad en una plataforma como AOTY, tan sólo este año he conocido grandes exponentes de casi todos los continentes; desde latitudes tan dispares como Brazil, Korea del Sur, Francia, Haití, España, Portugal, Nigeria, entre muchas muchas otras. En especial con influencias africanas como Sons Of Kemet, Femi Kuti & Made Kuti, al igual que otros con elementos de este distintivo estilo en ciertas de sus canciones pero no en la ... read more
Who would have thought that one of the best psychedelic rock albums in recent years would come from the heart of the Sahara desert but ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Mahamadou Souleymane, aka. Mdou Moctar, and his Matador Records debut, 'Afrique Victime'.
I think that understanding Mahamadou's journey up to today certainly adds to the magic of this record. Mahamadou comes from the city of Agadez in central Niger and first discovered music at an early age when attending an ... read more
My favorite album of 2021. A beautiful mix of hypnotic and bombastic, of free-floating love and intense pain. I still listen to this album almost once a month, and it only gets better and better with each listen.
Yes I really like this album a lot, it's supposed to have electronic adaptations of Tuareg guitar music. I am not an expert when it comes to this type of music, but that doesn't matter because I like it a lot.
Lot's of nice guitar bits with lovely African chants that immediately takes you away to a dreamy place where you can sit down and relax and forget about everything. Also very addictive, it gets better after each listen.
It's a very good album and if you are interested in African ... read more
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Track List
| 1 | Chismiten 4:58 | 84 |
| 2 | Taliat 3:48 | 80 |
| 3 | Ya Habibti 3:31 | 75 |
| 4 | Tala Tannam 5:38 | 80 |
| 5 | Untitled 1:25 | 74 |
| 6 | Asdikte Akal 4:31 | 75 |
| 7 | Layla 4:26 | 80 |
| 8 | Afrique Victime 7:25 | 90 |
| 9 | Bismilahi Atagah 5:36 | 78 |
Total Length: 41 minutes
Year End Lists
| #2 | / | The Young Folks |
| #3 | / | OOR |
| #4 | / | Passion of the Weiss |
| #4 | / | The New Yorker: Amanda Petrusich |
| #4 | / | Variety: Jem Aswad |
| #5 | / | The New York Times: Jon Pareles |
| #8 | / | Pitchfork |
| #9 | / | MAGNET |
| #9 | / | musicOMH |
| #10 | / | Dazed |
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Added on: March 2, 2021