Natacha Atlas' third album greatly expands upon the promise of her earlier work -- on
Gedida, her fusion of Arabic musical traditions and contemporary dance beats really jells, eliminating the more gimmicky dimensions of earlier records to strike a fascinating balance between old and new. While tracks like "Kifaya" and "Ezzay" magnify the cinematic aspirations of past efforts,
Gedida also takes a number of fascinating left turns -- a cover of
Françoise Hardy's "Mon Amie la Rose" is hauntingly beautiful, while on the closing "One Brief Moment"
Atlas delivers her first English-language vocal. ~ Raymond McKinney