Dance (2021)
We may be mostly bound inside our domiciles, unable to dance in mixed company, footloose and carefree. But, of course, we can still sway, swing and shake it on our own or within our pods, given the right soundtrack – and guitarist-vocalist Leni Stern’s new album, Dance, fits the bill perfectly, brimming as it does with rhythmic joie de’vivre and hum-along melody. Dance – following close on the heels of her 2020 release, 4 – sees Stern again fronting her cross-cultural New York quartet, featuring Argentine keyboardist Leo Genovese and the Senegalese rhythm duo of bassist Mamadou Ba and percussionist Alioune Faye. This set of hook-heavy, multilingual songs – colored with a blend of international rhythms, richly harmonized vocals and Stern’s jazzy six-string lyricism – makes for one of the most irresistible albums of her long, fruitful career. To be released on June 4, 2021, Dance will be preceded by multiple singles, with the first – the swaying, prayer-like “Yah Rakhman” – dropping on February 15.