Baaba Maal

This quietly released project hardly raised a peep when it came out. It's not a big album, in any way -- just eight songs, most collaborations with Sabina Sciubba of the Brazilian Girls. The songs are quiet and thoughtful, unforced. But it's that very flatfooted delivery that actually stands the album in good stead -- you want to lean in to hear what Maal has to say, and he's such a powerful performer that he can command your attention even when his mind seems to be wandering. It's a meditation of an album, chewing on something about our global culture, pulling us in to complete the thought.