There are all sorts of female vocals out there. There are the pop divas whose vocals trill endlessly up and down scales with the same ferocity of a cat after a laser pointer. There are the sweetly, angelic vocals that are laid out over quietly lush tracks like a sticky treacle. There are the ubiquitous pop queen du jour who all sound like mice fed a steady diet of cocaine laced sugar. Each type has their place as mood and music demand. But the female vocals that most catch my attention are the full-throated vocals of women with something to sing about – women with substance.

While skilled, some of the more popular vocals always strike me as contrived, where with rawer vocals there’s no place to hide the real woman. So, when Mauritania’s Noura Mint Seymali’s Tzenni, out on the Glitterbeat label on June 20th, turned up in my review stack I found myself completely blown away. For any unsuspecting listener that sly, knowing half smile Ms. Seymali wears on the cover of Tzenni as she poses with her ardin is more than an invitation – it’s a warning because the delicious bite of her music and vocals are bad ass cool. This is a musician and vocalist of substance.

Belting out what’s being called Mauritanian Blues, backed by her husband, guitarist and tidinit (similar to a guitar) player Jeiche Ould Chighaly, bassist Ousmane Toure, drummer Matthew C. Tinari and her own work on the electrified ardin (a stringed gourd instrument similar a harp), Ms. Seymali pounds out a sound that’s potent and downright feisty. After appearances on compilations like Globalfest Selector and Live from Festival au Desert, Timbuktu and a spot on La Cafetera Roja’s Refugi Tape, listeners get a full force dose of Ms. Seymali on Tzenni and from the get go understand her growing popularity in advance for her upcoming North American tour.

From the opening track of Tzenni, twangy blues eek against Ms. Seymali’s extraordinarily powerful vocals and it becomes apparent that this is not the roughed over blues of the desert blues but something carefully crafted from Ms. Seymali’s griot ancestors and the Moorish musical background of Mr. Chighaly against contemporary rock feel of bass and drums. Tracks like the fiery opening “Eguetmar” and the ardine-laced title track “Tzenni” serve to set the tone for this razor sharp recording. Follow-up tracks like “El Madi,” with additional ardin work from Mr. Chighaly and backing vocals from Mayass Hemed Vall, “El Mouglemen” with its slick guitar licks and “Char’aa” swirl hip deep in a blazing hipness as Ms. Seymali gives it all she’s got with some spectacular full-throated vocals that race up the spine and raise the hairs on the back of your neck.

With Tzenni, Ms. Seymali puts Mauritanian blues squarely on the musical map.