Balance

When Tarika Sammy released their debut album, Fanafody, in 1992, the Madagascar quartet captured the varied traditional musics and instruments of their Indian Ocean island in all their lilting lyricism. Tarika Sammy, however, have done what so few worldbeat acts have managed; the group has rapidly evolved their sound and brought forth a second album distinctly different from the first. If Fanafody was dominated by traditional music and the multi-instrumental wizardry of founder Samoela "Sammy" Andriamalalaharijaona, the follow-up release, Balance, is dominated by the original songs of lead singer Hanitrarivo "Hanitra" Rasoanaivo. --Geoffrey Himes