Formed in 1998, Mostar Sevdah Reunion has been at the forefront of the movement in bluesy Bosnian music that blends a traditional urban song style with Slav, Turkish and Jewish roots. While Mostar Sevdah Reunion has experienced a few personnel changes over the years, they remain strongly committed to Bosnia's Turkish-inflected blues known as Sevdah. Their twelfth album, Lady Sings The Balkan Blues, is a transcendent and beautiful showcase for their latest powerful lead female vocalist, Antonija Batinić, whose exquisite singing draws upon her past experience in the genres of jazz, blues and rock. It’s impressive that a type of music so firmly grounded in vocals doesn’t employ any background vocals. That is a testament to the amazing talent and skill of Antonija Batinić and her ability to carry the show with poignant lyrics of sadness, loneliness, dreams and desire. Expressive lyrics emphasize stories of regret and resignation, as well as some of love yearning, hopeless or painful. The tasty and tight core band consists of stellar musicians playing guitars, violin, piano, bass and drums.  Guest instrumental accompanists color certain tracks with accordion, trumpet and percussion. Instruments are played with contemporary fluency, mixing nostalgia and innovation.

The band wisely draws material from both traditional and more contemporary repertoire. Fans of world music (and sevdah in particular) will hear the familiar in “Moj Dilbere,” while the swinging, countrified groove of “Omer Beže” conveys a ballad of faithful love. Traditional tracks such as ““Sejdefu Majka Buđaš” (Mother Waketh Sejdefa) and “Zap Jevala Sojka Ptica” (A Jaybird Chirped) present a significant amount of heartfelt conversation and the latter also makes a thoughtful statement about arranged marriage. “Srdo Moja” (Sulky Love of Mine) establishes a wistful groove to complement its melancholy tale and longing for togetherness around Sarajevo. Track 2 even had me singing along on the “Bil, bil, bil, bil, Bul, bu, bul, bul” part of the song.     

Mostar Sevdah Reunion’s Lady Sings The Balkan Blues is another crowning achievement for the globally-recognized band that is building a legion of fans for sevdah music woven from Balkan, Turkish and Sephardic strands. Liner notes and lyrics in English were much appreciated. Interpreting each song with exquisite grace, Batinić's rich, soulful pipes match up well with the evocative lines in warm-hearted recollections in more contemporary tracks like “Da Sam Ptica” (If I Were a Bird) and “Negdje u Daljine” (Somewhere in the Distance).  

The album closes with an adoring tribute to the late Serbian singer Milutin Sretenović (aka Sreta) with whom they released Sreta: The Balkan Autumn in 2018. On their next release, I’d like to hear Mostar Sevdah Reunion really tear it up, perhaps with even a few more added guests on propulsive tabla, plucked tamburitza, wafting fife and contemplative saz to convey an even more diverse array of moods, emotions and feelings.

For twelve albums now, the enchanting and exuberant music of Mostar Sevdah Reunion has been consistently satisfying. The talented, inventive musicians keep one foot in tradition and one in the future as they also display considerable jazz, rock, blues and popular music sensibilities.  From the city of Mostar, a melting pot of Christians, Muslims and Jews, New Sevdah music remains fluid, thoughtful, and an effective reminder that there is a beautiful flavor of Balkan music with a plaintive and lamenting tone. (Joe Ross, Roots Music Report)