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When it comes to appreciating music you don`t readily understand, ignorance sometimes is bliss.

That`s not to say it doesn`t help to know that le gair agus ceol is Gaelic for "laughter and music," or that malalako roughly translates as "Be My Baby" in the Madagascar language of Malagasy.

But enjoying exotic music from other countries needn`t be hampered by a lack of familiarity with exotic languages. Not comprehending the words of songs may allow you to focus purely on their sound and emotion rather than the literal meaning.

And often, the sound and emotion are more than enough for aural bliss, as several of the albums reviewed attest.

Soul Makassar; Tarika

Triloka (www.triloka.com)

Led by singer Hanitra Rasoanaivo, Tarika combines the age-old music of its native Madagascar with Western pop and various African and Indonesian styles, but without diluting any of them. What results sounds fresh and vital, yet is unmistakably steeped in tradition. The dance-happy music on this dozen-song album is filled with undulating rhythms, sparkling melodies and joyous call-and-response vocal exchanges in French, Malagasy and (on a delightful, violin-tinged remake of Phil Spector`s "Be My Baby") French and English.

Rasoanaivo is a captivating frontwoman, but she is matched note for note by her splendid band, which is led by fleet-fingered guitarist Ny Ony. Former Small Faces/Bob Dylan keyboardist Ian McLagan adds swirling Hammond organ fills to the songs "Seketa" and "Allo Cheri," while the politically charged closing number, "Madindo," poses the unlikely question: What does Madagascar hip-hop sound like? (Answer: Terrific!)

Gun Sireadh, Dun Iarraidh (Without Seeking, without Asking); Christine Primrose

Temple (templerecords.co.uk)

Scotland`s Christine Primrose is one of her country`s foremost singers of Gaelic music. On her latest solo album (due out July 10), she conveys a wealth of emotions with her full-bodied voice, suggesting a made-in-heaven cross between Joan Baez and Ireland`s Naimh Parsons. Whether performing a cappella or with her choice of instrumental accompanists, Primrose is a captivating artist. The three bonus tracks included from her previous albums reaffirm that she has risen to such exhilarating musical heights on a regular basis.

This Sentence is True (The Previous Sentence is False); Sheila Chandra

Shakti (www.shaktirecords)

Since emerging as the lead singer in the London-based, Indian pop-music group Monsoon in the early 1980s, Sheila Chandra has recorded a series of albums for Peter Gabriel`s Real World Label that embodied some of the most pretentious qualities of World Music. On "This Sentence Is True," her first album in five years, she abandons her too-polite, overly calculated approach of the past for an envelope-pushing synthesis that suits her surprisingly well.

Combining elements of Indian raga, ambient music, electronica, Gregorian chant and stark minimalism, she and longtime musical partner Steve Coe thrive by rejecting the formulaic approach that marred her previous albums. And the more bold and daring she, Coe and his Ganges Orchestra are here, the more heady and rewarding their music becomes.

The Storm Still Rages; Rhonda Vincent

Rounder (rounder.com)

She may look like a glamorous country star on the cover of "The Storm Still Rages," but Rhonda Vincent sounds like the electrifying bluegrass dynamo she is on this, her 18th album. Don`t be embarrassed if you haven`t heard of Vincent, a seven-time winner of the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America`s Top Female Vocalist award and last year`s International Bluegrass Music Association Vocalist of the Year. Most non-bluegrass fans haven`t, and her failed attempt at cookie-cutter country-

pop in the mid-1990s was a waste of time and talent.

But Vincent has thrived since returning to her bluegrass roots with last year`s robust "Back Home Again," and she sounds even better on this rousing, 13-song album. Accompanied by her crack band, the Rage, and such guests as longtime fan Alison Krauss and ace violinist Stuart Duncan, she rips through the breakneck-paced "Bluegrass Express" and the hard-driving (and drinking) ode to heartbreak, "Drivin` Nails in My Coffin." She also croons like an earthy honky-tonk angel on Hank Williams` mournful "My Sweet Love Ain`t Around," then pays loving homage to the late Bill Monroe with "Is the Grass Any Bluer?" Bluegrass rarely gets any better than this.

(c) Copley News Service

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Author: George Varga