by Victor W. Valdivia For her solo release, Alabina singer Ishtar dropped the flamenco sound favored by her usual collaborators Los Ninos De Sara and instead released a collection of Arabic-flavored dance-pop. Several cuts, such as the disco-flavored "Depuis Qu'il M'aime" sound tailor-made for a club, but others have a much darker, more mysterious bent. "Lamouni" is a swirling, Arabic track that shows off Ishtar's impressive voice to its fullest while "Last Kiss" (the only song in English) is a dark, epic ballad that wouldn't sound out of place on a Kate Bush album. The real standout cut, though, is the spectacular "Yalla," which perfectly meshes Ishtar's Middle Eastern sound with techno rhythms and intricate production. The album can sometimes seen uneven, attempting to balance the lighter dance and pop cuts with the more experimental material, but the sequencing and production iron out some of the differences, and Ishtar's voice is powerful enough to lend distinction to even the most formulaic material. Ishtar: The Voice of Alabina does a superb job of mixing traditional and modern sounds, and will please anyone looking for striking original world music.