Revolution

This "racine" or Haitian roots band's fourth LP "Revolution," kicks off with "Sevelen/Sukiyaki (No More Excuses for the War)"--a searing and wildly imaginative reconception of the classic Japanese ditty--and runs on high octane through all 13 tracks. Recorded in Fugee Wyclef Jean's New Jersey studio and mixed in Brooklyn, it is Boukman's finest yet: equal parts temple devotion, dance floor frenzy, and frontline resolve. The music roils with Haiti's centuries- old turmoil balanced by a staunch faith that better must come. This is the best yet from a world music favorite known for blending excitement (hypnotic chanting, pounding drums, "Lolo" Beabrun's impassioned wails) with Western pop forms (blistering guitar raves and jangly keyboard riffs). --Elena Oumano