Yasmine Hamdan: Al Jamilat review – adventurous electropop from Beirut

(Crammed Discs)Once a member of the Beirut duo Soapkills, Yasmine Hamdan enjoys cult status in the Middle East thanks to her cool, electropop songs with Arabic lyrics. In the west she is less well known, despite her contribution to the Jim Jarmusch film Only Lovers Left Alive. But that could change with this intriguing second album. The obvious comparison is to Algeria’s Souad Massi, and the opening track, Douss, starts off like a Massi favourite, with its blend of gently melodic acoustic