Thrill Jockey

It would be easy to label Sidi Toure as the new Ali Farka Toure – same family name, both songhai from northern Mali, stunning blues-informed guitar work and impassioned vocals – but it would also be unfair. Despite the commonalities, Sidi Toure has been making music for more than 35 years – he cut his first solo album in 1995, and then took a 16-year sabbatical from the studio – and long ago, developed a distinctive approach to the style, which is now fully realized on Koima. The new release picks up where last year’s Sahel Folk left off, expanding on the ideas that that all-acoustic set introduced. Although it was actually recorded in 2009, the wider-screen format of Koima – violin, bass, calabash and jawdropping lead guitar from Oumar Konate open up the spectrum – offers a fuller, richer listening experience.