Tinariwen exists as proof that the feeling of music transcends all borders and political boundaries. The group, which hails from an area in the Saharan mountain range between Northeastern Mali and Southern Algeria, makes desert blues-rock that feels universal. Although the songs are clearly rooted in their homeland, the musicians recorded Elwan, their seventh album, between Joshua Tree and Morocco, evoking disparate desert landscapes that come together cohesively here. The songs don’t necessarily have a nationality. The music is about how you feel when you hear it and what it evokes within you. The album features appearances by Kurt Vile and Mark Lanegan, who add to its gritty blues sensibility, and numbers like “Tiwàyyen” rely on twanging Southern riffs, a folksy intimacy and raw production. It’s the sort of music we need right now in the world—music that reminds us that art doesn’t need to fit into boxes based on geography or culture. Tinariwen has historically been a voice of rebellion, and that sensibility carries through. You can hear the passion and intent in the vocals, even when you don’t understand the language in which they’re delivered. Blues are the blues—no matter the form of the words—which is particularly evident on “Nizzagh Ijbal,” an evocative ballad that pulls you right into the musicians’ mood.