Soul Makassar

After the danceable delights of D, Tarika plunge back into something that wraps serious ideas in a joyful musical robe, looking at the Indonesian ancestry of Madagascar. And so tracks like "Sulawesi" shine an important light on the band and the big red island, connecting the dots across the Indian Ocean. Produced by Sabah Habas Mustapha, who has a strong Indonesian musical pedigree himself, this disc offers a seamless mix of elements from both geographic areas, illustrating the common root. Of course, this being Tarika, there are also songs in French, some superb playing on the vahila and marovany, plus plenty of rhythms to set the feet tapping. Further, there are sororal harmonies that come close to the unearthly--not to mention a charmingly naive cover of "Be My Baby" and some Malagasy rap to round things out. It's their most diverse and ambitious statement to date--an anthropological document with a groove. --Chris Nickson