Brahim's keening take on Afro-blues, is beautiful, bewitching, aquiver with timeless sorrow. --- Mojo. "This is a sound and message that reaches the heart, beyond imposed borders, curfews and barbed wire, with a dream for the end to the struggle." ---The Quietus. Sahrawi singer-songwriter activist Aziza Brahim's fifth album Mawja (Wave in HassaniyaArabic) is fashioned from a simple but powerful foundational palette: Saharan and Iberianpercussion entwining with stately guitars and warm, enveloping bass.Co-produced by Brahim with long-time collaborator Guillem Aguilar, the record from heroeuvre that Mawja most sonically resembles is her revered and graceful debut Soutak (2014).That noted, there is a confident eclecticism found here, an expansive take onher vision that even includes a drum pattern inspired by the Clash.Brahim's voice, as always, is a wellspring of deep and resonant emotions. The yearning forhomeland. The struggle for freedom. The love for one's elders. The unfurling of time.Waves of history, waves of sound. Mawja.