Once upon a time — that is, a little more than a decade ago — Saharan rock was a very rare-blooming flower on stages outside of countries like Mali, Niger and Mauritania. Since then, the region's rolling grooves and rhythmic grit have become very familiar to indie rock fans after the enormous worldwide success of acts like Tinariwen and Bombino. Pilgrims including folks like Robert Plant and Bono (and I) voyaged to the now-exiled Festival in the Desert, in northern Mali, to see fantastic nomadic groups hit the stage one after the other.

But the arrival of Mauritanian vocalist Noura Mint Seymali in front of Western audiences feels like the start of a new era. She's blessed with a powerhouse voice and a regal stage presence, so much so that Jerry Wexler's description of Aretha Franklin as an "ecstatic hierophant" springs to mind.

It's not just Seymali's supercharged voice that makes Tzenni special. She and her husband, the very talented guitarist Jeiche Ould Chighaly, and the rest of their band have created a unique and utterly intoxicating sound for their first internationally released full-length album. It's psychedelic for sure, with Seymali and Chighaly spinning out helixes of melodies that swoop around and around, but at the same time the songs are heavily rooted in rhythms provided by West African harp, lute and percussion as well as bass guitar and drums. Brimming with crackle and verve, Tzenni rocks along in a fantastic marriage of desert grit and otherworldly haze.